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Germany's energy U-turn: Coal instead of gas
Deutsche Welle ^ | August 7, 2022 | By Sabine Kinkartz

Posted on 08/07/2022 10:28:24 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

Berlin has realized it will never again import as much energy from Russia as before the Ukraine war. So the challenge is to wean Germany off its dependence on Russian energy sources, and quickly. The question is how.

Starting this week, German hard coal-fired power stations are restarting operations, which were being phased out because of the hugely detrimental climate impact on a world already ravaged by global warming. Germany's goal had been to phase out all coal-generated electricity by 2038.

But now, the government is swallowing the bitter pill of allowing coal-fired power back onto the grid.

At the beginning of 2021, a tonne of hard coal would go for $64 (€63) on the world market. Now, the price has risen close to $400. Some 7.4 billion tonnes of hard coal were mined last year, half of it in China. But coal-mining countries meet their own needs first, and only 1 billion tonnes end up being traded on the global market.

Given the fact that electricity prices are rising dramatically, there are huge incentives for operators of decommissioned plants to make every effort to get them back on the grid.

(Excerpt) Read more at dw.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Germany; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; Russia
KEYWORDS: climatechange; coal; energy; europe; germany; globalwarming
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1 posted on 08/07/2022 10:28:24 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

LOL


2 posted on 08/07/2022 10:29:08 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Coal-powered cars are the future, comrade.


3 posted on 08/07/2022 10:32:44 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (We are already in a revolutionary period, and the Rule of Law means nothing. It's "whatever".)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

https://www.miningfrontier.com/projects/hard-coal-mining-germany/


4 posted on 08/07/2022 10:34:51 AM PDT by mo ("If you understand, no explanation is needed; if you don't understand, no explanation is possible)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

President Trump warned them about being dependent on Russian energy.....


5 posted on 08/07/2022 10:35:20 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin ( (Natural born citizens are born here of citizen parents)(Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Indulging in BS fantasy collapses when you are facing cold, hunger and the rioting and mayhem that follows. I guess they are not laughing at Trump now.


6 posted on 08/07/2022 10:36:42 AM PDT by gibsonguy
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Another win and ‘told you so’ for Trump.
Who got the last laugh, EU dipsh*ts?


7 posted on 08/07/2022 10:41:15 AM PDT by cranked
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Green energy for thee, but not for me.


8 posted on 08/07/2022 10:43:43 AM PDT by Ken H (Trump /DeSantis)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

They should shift back to nuclear.


9 posted on 08/07/2022 10:47:20 AM PDT by marron
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
So Germany is going back to burning coal. Ruh-roh. Somebody is going to get an angry letter from you-know-who.


10 posted on 08/07/2022 10:48:17 AM PDT by Leaning Right (The steal is real.)
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To: marron

What impact does China substantially increasing its use of coal for power have on climate change.


11 posted on 08/07/2022 10:50:09 AM PDT by ActresponsiblyinVA
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To: marron

What impact does China substantially increasing its use of coal for power have on climate change.


12 posted on 08/07/2022 10:50:09 AM PDT by ActresponsiblyinVA
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

That’s not hard to figure: Germany has proven reserves equivalent to 154.6 times its annual consumption. This means it has about 155 years of Coal left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).

And they don’t have to kiss Putin’s ass to get it. Just Greta’s...


13 posted on 08/07/2022 10:51:10 AM PDT by bigbob (z)
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To: ActresponsiblyinVA

Of course I don’t actually believe in climate change as an issue. If I did, though, I’d promote nuclear power all around.

And actually, if they can further develop small nuclear, I very much do favor it. I don’t like mega plants, a shut-down or hiccup causes too much trouble. But many small generators are pretty resilient, I think. If one is down for maintenance, no problem.


14 posted on 08/07/2022 10:56:33 AM PDT by marron
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To: marron

They could send a few engineers to West Virginia to learn how to burn clean energy with coal. I live between two huge coal burning giants and the air is clear. I do remember the old days when you came home with a black face if you went to Nashville. And you wheezed through winter.


15 posted on 08/07/2022 10:57:40 AM PDT by WVNan (stop)
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To: ActresponsiblyinVA

I don’t know about Chinese plants, but modern American coal plants are pretty pristine. And they are a very reliable base provider for the grid. I like natural gas too, but there is nothing wrong with coal.

Actually, I like wind and solar. Whatever works. But they are only niche providers. They can never be reliable power sources at the grid level.


16 posted on 08/07/2022 10:59:26 AM PDT by marron
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To: WVNan

See my post 16. I agree with you. I used to work in coal plants. Modern plants are very clean.


17 posted on 08/07/2022 11:00:39 AM PDT by marron
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To: Leaning Right

Heidi is coming to get you!


18 posted on 08/07/2022 11:01:10 AM PDT by Ken H (Trump /DeSantis)
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To: marron

Safe nuclear’s the answer.

And plants built on safe soil - not on cheap land on fault lines like Japan and California have done.


19 posted on 08/07/2022 11:01:49 AM PDT by GOPJ (Every large city run by democrats is a hellhhole.. Don't let democrats 'hellhole' the country. VOTE.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Alexander Bethe, chairman of the Board of the Berlin-based Association of Coal Importers, is sure of that: "This winter, we will certainly import over 30 million tonnes (33 million US tons) of hard coal to keep our power stations in operation. That would be 11% up on 2021."

Before the war in Ukraine, 50% of the coal for Germany's power stations was imported from Russia.

20 posted on 08/07/2022 11:07:50 AM PDT by tlozo (Better to Die on Your Feet than Live on Your Knees)
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