Posted on 10/03/2021 5:30:49 AM PDT by blam
In the history of the world, German electricity prices have never been higher…
… and if what just happened at the Steag Bergkamen-A electric plant is any indication, they are about to get a whole lot higher.
According to Bloomberg, the global energy crisis has forced a German electricity producer to halt a power plant after it ran out of coal.
Steag GmbH – which operates six large-scale hard coal plants in Germany with an installed capacity of more than 4,000 MW – closed its Bergkamen-A plant in the western part of the country this week due to shortages of hard coal, it said by email.
The Bergkamen power station.
“We are short of hard coal,” said Daniel Muhlenfeld, a Steag spokesman. “There is a strong demand for coal per se and secondly, there is a strong demand for transport by barge. And since Bergkamen has no rail connection, there are no logistical alternatives available here.”
Steag is also facing logistical challenges as the recovery of Europe’s biggest economy fuels demand for river transport. Still the utility is optimistic that the plant will come back online “quite soon.” The Bergkamen-A plant was halted four times in September for as many as six days at a time due to external factors, according to filings. Three other German coal plants were halted on Friday for maintenance.
“We are dealing with a double bottleneck.” Muhlenfeld said. “This is not a specific problem for Steag but a common problem for nearly all owners of hard coal-based power plants these days.”
That explanation won’t make it any easier for millions of European residents to pay as much as 10x more than they are used when their next electricity bill comes in.
The closure, similar to what we have observed over the past two weeks in China, is the first sign that Europe may need to count on mild and windy weather to keep the lights on as the continent faces shortages of natural gas and coal is unlikely to come to rescue. Alas, as Bloomberg also notes, that is unlikely, at least in the near-term:
◾*GERMAN MONDAY BASELOAD POWER TRADES AT 179 EUR/MWH TRDEBD3, UP 88.4% FROM FRIDAY DELIVERY AS WIND AND SOLAR SUPPLY EXPECTED TO HALVE
As a reminder, amid soaring gas and coal prices across the globe which have resulted in widespread fossil fuel (read nat gas and coal) shortages, China ordered its state-owned companies to secure supplies at all costs and Europe is burning more of its already depleted stocks of the dirtiest of fossil fuel, a move that may complicate climate talks next month.
As a result of the failure of “green” renewable sources of energy to fill the demand gap, European utilities have turned to coal due to shortages of natural gas, recently stepping in to the spot market to secure cargoes and even asking Russia for more supplies. China’s move to secure more supplies is likely to make matters worse, with Europe set to scramble to secure fuel this winter.
However, the more Europe telgraphs its glaring weakness, the more Moscow tightens the screws, and overnight nat gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline plunged by 77% from Thursday, leading to new record high prices across the continent, where stockpiles of nat gas are at the lowest level in a decade.
As Bloomberg adds, coal is already trading at sky-high levels, putting an industry benchmark on track to break on Friday the previous record of $192.50 set in July 2008. Several cargoes of Australian coal changed hands above $200 a metric ton on Tuesday, according to traders who saw the transactions on the globalCOAL platform.
As for Germany’s alternative energy source, well, here’s a little story on where we stand there. As BBC reports, a huge wind turbine collapsed just hours before it was due to be officially inaugurated. The turbine, which reached a height of 239 metres, toppled over late on Wednesday without warning. No one was injured.
Remains of the wind turbine remain in the forest in Haltern
Remains of the structure are littered in a forest near the western town of Haltern am See in North Rhine-Westphalia. Police were not initially suspecting sabotage, according to the German DPA news agency.
Costing around €2 million, the wind turbine was scheduled to be officially launched on Thursday, although it was connected to the power grid six months ago.
Germany is trying to ramp up its use of renewable energy such as wind and solar as part of a transition away from fossil fuels and nuclear power. Unfortunately, as incidents such as this one demonstrate, it will take decades before base alternative energy is even remotely a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Until then, Europe faces many long, freezing winters, and while Europe’s virtue signalers can always say they are “green” they will also be very cold and perhaps broke too.
I’m on a rail line from WV to Norfolk and I’ve noticed a lot more coal cars lately
Germany runs out of coal. Isn’t that sort of like Arabs running out of sand? Milton Friedman must be laughing out loud right now.
Shortages of coal & natural gas to produce electricity don’t bode well for the electric car industry.
Montana has a $1,000,000,000+ trust fund from coal taxes.
We ship coal daily.
<;-)
Good thing the world is converting to electric vehicles to fight a non-existent climate change while coal and nuclear power are being killed off. It’s not like half of the civilized world was telling them what was going to happen. Vote for stupid people, get stupid results.
The only reason anyone would run out of coal or natural gas would be liberals and their stupid green mandates.
Good thing Merkel shut down all their nuclear power plants a few years ago so she could virtue signal.
Enjoy shivering in the dark Yurps.
RE:Shortages of coal & natural gas to produce electricity don’t bode well for the electric car industry.
May I disagree? I am pretty sure Electric Vehicles are all charged with electricity generated exclusively by Unicorn Piss. Therefore except from normal supply & demand of commerce.
I hope the MFr’s freeze to death in the dark.
Denmark, the world's most wind-intensive nation, with more than 6,000 turbines generating 19% of its electricity, has yet to close a single fossil-fuel plant.
It requires 50% more coal-generated electricity to cover wind power's unpredictability, and pollution and carbon dioxide emissions have risen (by 36% in 2006 alone).
Flemming Nissen, the head of development at West Danish generating company ELSAM (one of Denmark's largest energy utilities) tells us that "wind turbines do not reduce carbon dioxide emissions."
The German experience is no different. Der Spiegel reports that "Germany's CO2 emissions haven't been reduced by even a single gram," and additional coal-and gas-fired plants have been constructed to ensure reliable delivery.
Indeed, recent academic research shows that wind power may actually increase greenhouse gas emissions in some cases, depending on the carbon-intensity of back-up generation required because of its intermittent character.
On the negative side of the environmental ledger are adverse impacts of industrial wind turbines on birdlife and other forms of wildlife, farm animals, wetlands and viewsheds.
Suck it up Greenies.
Might help boost the Hybrid car industry, though.
It’s the natural gas one that gets e. Abundant safe and clean(er). It’s the left. They hate capitalism and global warming is pretty smart of them.
And old solar cells (less efficient) at the scrap heap
Merkel said....No more coal...no more nuclear...
Progs are really just a bunch of dummies who highly overrate their
intelligence and abilities.
Such ironicalness. The Nazis made gasoline out of coal because they lost their access to oil
Nothing tastes as bad as cold saurkraut.
Vote to freeze to death.
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