Wednesday
Jan182017
by 
Josh
Josh The Crisis of Germany's 'Energiewende' - Cartoon notes by Josh
Last night Professor Fritz Vahrenholt gave a hugely interesting talk on Germany's experiment with renewable energy. I will add a link to the talk when it is posted up by the GWPF, who sponsored the event. In the meantime here are some cartoon notes.
;)
Click image to enlarge
Reader Comments (18)
Germany is the world's 4th largest coal user, after China, India and US. Not much of a Wende, is it?
You mean I have to do the pedalling as well?
Meanwhile in Germany, advocates including the green party want to relax nature protection laws so that more wind turbines can be planted.
http://notrickszone.com/2017/01/18/german-greens-move-to-water-down-nature-protection-laws-to-clear-way-for-wind-parks/
As The Cold Sun theory has run afoul of reality, :
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2017/01/the-nasa-data-conspiracy-theory-and-the-cold-sun/
it is understandable that Fritz should seek to change horsefeathers in mid-stream, and re-invent himself as an energy policy guru.
The coal barons of Former East Germany should find Josh as entertaining a court jester as those of the British North.
Professor Fritz Vahrenholt gave a masterly exposition on how totally bonkers the German supply plans are and how they have only been able to muddle through so far without major outages (though at enormous cost) because of German over engineeering and because Germany can lean on coal fired power from Poland, nuclear from France and hydro from Austria to cover over the cracks.
Fritz does not think a competitive market is workable for Germany and had only a hazy idea of how a competitive market for dispatchable power actually works. Renewable energy can of course (as he understood) take no part in this market as it is too variable and unpredictable to have any dispatchable power at all.
He seems to think that somehow despite the enormous cost,Germany may manage to muddle through and that the Paris agreement will survive Trump.
I think in this he is probably wrong. Trump will cut a swathe through NASA and the EPA. He will drag them out blinking into the glare of some actual scientific overview. They are carrying too much baggage and have told too many lies to have much hope of surviving this
Dave @ 5:06 pm
"... Trump will cut a swathe through NASA and the EPA. He will drag them out blinking into the glare of some actual scientific overview. They are carrying too much baggage and have told too many lies to have much hope of surviving this"
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I agree and certainly hope so.
He has been involved within the energy arena for a while.
"1998 - 2001 Member of the Board of Directors of Deutsche Shell AG with responsibility for chemicals, renewable energy, public affairs, environment, electricity, 2001 member of the supervisory board
2001-2007 Chief executive of REpower Systems AG, Hamburg
Member of the "sustainability advisory board" to chancellor Schröder and Merkel, Berlin"
http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/en/66234/rwe/curriculum-vitae-prof-dr-fritz-vahrenholt/
As I understand it Germany's CO2 emissions continue to increase so all that money and consumer pain, not to metion the effect on the countryside and wildlife, have all been for nothing. Why are we still distorying our industry with expensive energy as a result of this delusionary nonsence ?
@Ross.
Its called industrial sabotage.
The tactic was known and understood by social creditors since the 30s.
The objective is to simply raise prices higher then net income and thus preserving the money monopoly hold on peoples lives and lifestyle.
To repeat their artifical scarcity ( through growth) broke down in 2007.
The next step is logical.
Real scarcity must be created in such circumstances if your objective is control.
Russell
Real Climate ánd Rahmstorf? Give me a break.
The German (and to a degree the UK's) energy system can be compared to a railway network with HSTs and local trains. On a sane railway HSTs are given priority over locals. On the 'energy' railway however, the reverse is the case. Local train have priority and in addition can start out any time they choose - with or without any passengers. Occasionally they have to wait for an HST - but when they do they are paid for the journey they then don't make.
The analogy is obvious - HSTs are the reliable and efficient energy systems: coal/gas/nuclear. The locals are the renewables: wind and solar.
Vahrenholt told of the time he was present when the Chinese energy minister was in Germany talking to the German energy minister. The topic was windfarms. The question was asked, what did Germany do when a wind pulse overloaded the grid - as happens in Germany.
Through an interpreter the German minister explained that the farms are asked to shut down, but that they are then paid for the energy they then do not supply (the same happens in the UK incidentally).
The interpreter explained this to the Chinese minister who immediately became angry with the interpreter, telling him that he had clearly not understood the German minister's answer. So he was told to repeat the question. This was done and, once again, the Chinese minister was cross and told the interpreter to ask yet again: same answer!
When the Chinese minster realised that this was truly the position in Germany, he was astonished and said that in China no one got paid for nothing!
@ Philip
That's actually the problem with China and the reason it's a absurd mercantile hellhole.
In Europe only the favoured connected few are paid to do nothing.
If you want to solve the production / consumption gap problem you credit each person equally ( no transfers using the tax system)
Most of the problems we see around us will vanish for some funny reason.
No need for socialism.
No need for rationing
Most class conflict will disappear.
DQ: 12% (low)
Who are the Germans relying on, to supply power, when their Unreliables fail to deliver?
"Real scarcity must be created in such circumstances if your objective is control." --The Dork of Cork
I would agree with you, except monopolist and oligopsonist monetary theory must now be looked at in the light of transtextual developments reported in this recent paper:
http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/
O Energiewende, O Energiewende,
How costly are thy branches.
Isn't the Energy Wand what The Climate Fairy Merkel waves to create electricity out of thin air?
Shopping