Coal Keeps Germany’s Lights On

Wall Street Journal. ^ | March 9, 2023 | The Editorial Board

[george76]

The supposedly evil energy source saves the day in Europe.

Germany did itself and Europe a favor by managing to avert an energy-shortage recession this winter, and now we know how they did it: supposedly evil coal. Data released Thursday show coal’s role in electricity generation growing in Germany for the second year running.

Coal accounted for 33.3% of electricity production in 2022, according to the Federal Statistical Office, up from 30.2% in 2021... coal’s resurgence started in 2020, before the Ukraine war triggered fears of a gas crisis.

...

wind and solar don’t work when the winds are still or the skies are cloudy. Utilities require cheap and easy alternative sources of power to match supply with demand in an advanced industrial economy when the weather doesn’t cooperate. Cheap and easy means coal, which is why coal’s share of German electricity increased even as the overall share of conventional sources of energy declined to 53.7% from 57.7%.

Another explanation for coal’s resurgence is the political hostility of Germany’s green left to nuclear power, whose share of electricity production fell to 6.4% from 12.6% as three reactors were shut, leaving only three left to limp along this spring. Germany could tap its shale-gas reserves for a cleaner-burning alternative to coal, but that option is politically toxic too. So in an hilarious green irony, coal is keeping the lights on.

Berlin still plans to ban coal by 2030. Maybe before that day arrives politicians in Berlin will catch up to what the market already knows: Fossil fuels remain indispensable for powering modern economies.

[Rurudyne]

Keep coal, ban Watermelon Greens.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

I recall that a lot of Germany’s thermal coal is high sulphur stuff, too.

[george76]

World’s Worst Polluter China Leads Global Stampede for Coal.

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4143670/posts

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Newport News, Virginia Coal Terminal

Keeping Germany Warm Since 1945!

[himno hero]

I recall that solar cannot provide the necessary juice for industry and commerce.
Its all a hoax to cripple and crash productive societies.
There’s a war on western man.
Their propaganda and bull is overwhelming

Coal will be king for quite a while yet.
Does anyone believe the developing world is going to go without development?
China? India?

[No name given]

I’m all for good stewardship of our planet, but destroying the economy isn’t the answer.

[KC_for_Freedom]

Well said. And nuclear, particulayly if it is of the newer and safer designs will be the final answer — if we continue to fall for the CO2 arguement — which is also not working well for the anti- nuke and anti-grid economy.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Coal keeps the World's lights on.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

The current Green Party pols who were against coal “until” they declared it “green.” Temporarily. This is how intelligent and informed the German Green Party is....

[AZJeep]

Germany installed “renewable” energy is about 50% larger than their whole needed energy. But they get only about 25% of they total energy from “renewables”.
It just show the huge difference between installed and delivered power of “renewables”.

If you have 1000MW energy generator of “fossil” plant, you can count at least of 800MW delivered.
1000MW of “renewables” deliver about 150-200MW.
Remember that when you see published new project!

[GOPJ]

Now that Germany is getting a taste of reality, they should use this to dump their insane ‘greenies’... Nuclear power is cheep and doesn’t pollute. They need to bring back their Nuke plants...

[COBOL2Java]

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

You made me laff!

[JimRed]

There must be available technology to enable cleaner use of coal. If not, why not?

[Wuli]

Germany could have bit failed to do what France did, and that is what made Germany so dependent on energy imports.

France, electric generation by energy source: nuclear: 74.5% hydro-electric: 16.3% thermal: 9.1% wind power and other renewable sources: 0.1%

Germany, electric geneation by energy source: 31% coal, 6% nuclear, 13.8% natural gas, 21.7% wind [which is not a steady source], 3% hyrdopower, 10.5 solar.

Germany’s weakness in domestic energy is man made, not built in.

[NWFree]

Better than freezing to death at the hands of libtardism

[gleeaikin]

Modern nuclear plants are great until some greedy dictator invades your country and the risk of war damage becomes a danger to all the neighbors.

I imagine Germany and its neighbors were looking forward to getting some friendly gas and oil from Ukraine by this time when they signed exploration contracts with 3 major US oil companies back in 2012. Of course Putin didn’t want pesky Ukraine undermining the Russian semi-monopoly on oil and gas. Thus it seized Crimea which potentially had large underwater deposits around it and sent the “little green men” to undermine Donbass as well, also having likely deposits. So the US exploration contracts were canceled in 2014.

And Russia, Europe, and Ukraine have been playing games over this since 2014. Russia thought it could just march in and take over Ukraine’s valuable resources. Europe and Canada made it hard to maintain the Nord Stream pipeline, and Russia lost that market while we gained it. That is why Russia may have destroyed Nord Stream. This has caused a major shuffle in the world energy market. Russia still wants Ukraine’s resources in the Donbass and Crimea, and Ukraine still intends to get its country back. This is why Russia is willing to totally destroy Ukraine cities. It does not want cities it wants what is underground. The one thing Russia was reluctant to destroy was the major steel plant in the southeast. Eventual petro resources is another reason for Europe to help Ukraine besides the important humanity and international law considerations.