Free Republic

Today I am risking being too glib, but my excuse is aspiring to meet the Einstein standard, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” It’s not hard to see that as rough as economic conditions are now, they are set to get worse. And it’s not hard to see that despite the considerable blowback from the sanctions against Russia, the West is not going to relent. Here’s a simple baseline forecast. Russia wins in Ukraine. The West may try to define it somehow as not a victory, but it’s hard to see how Russia does not take the...

In 2018, when then-President Donald Trump warned Germany about their reliance on Russian energy during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the German delegation just laughed it off. It’s no longer a laughing matter now. Russia announced in June that it will reduce natural gas flows to Germany by roughly 40 percent. The German government recently declared that the country had entered the “alarm stage” of the emergency gas plan, calling on its citizens to reduce consumption. In London, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that Russia could cut gas supplies to Europe entirely to boost its leverage...

On Monday, the country recorded that imports outstripped exports for more than 30 years. Its entire economy has been built around creating an industrial machine that dominates global markets. That machine is now grinding to a halt. Exports unexpectedly fell, while imports surged as the cost of energy spiked. Until recently it was racking up surpluses of 8 or 9 per cent of GDP, or €20 billion a month, the biggest in the world. The German economy is based on selling high-end industrial goods to the rest of the world. Unlike many other countries, it doesn’t have huge service industries...

After a warning from the head of three power companies, France’s government has announced that it will restart a coal-fired plant this winter. The announcement that the Saint-Avold will be brought back online comes shortly after the heads of three major energy companies in France warned that the general public must “immediately” cut back on energy use to better enable officials to better handle energy insecurity. According to broadcaster RTL, officials have said that the coal-fired plant is being brought back into service “a precaution, given the Ukrainian situation”. Le Figaro meanwhile notes officials as saying that they will be...

After a warning from the head of three power companies, France’s government has announced that it will restart a coal-fired plant this winter. A coal-fueled power plant in the north-east of France is due to be restarted by the country’s government this winter in order to better combat energy insecurity resulting in part due to ongoing hostilities with Russia. The announcement that the Saint-Avold will be brought back online comes shortly after the heads of three major energy companies in France warned that the general public must “immediately” cut back on energy use to better enable officials to better handle...

Germany took emergency measures on June 19, 2022 to secure its energy supply in the face of recent drops in Russian gas deliveries, including a “bitter” use of the most polluting energy, coal. BERLIN—Germany will restart coal-fired power plants and offer incentives for companies to curb natural gas consumption, marking a new step in the economic war between Europe and Russia. Berlin unveiled the measures Sunday after Russia cut gas supplies to Europe last week as it punched back against European sanctions and military support for Ukraine. The steps, part of a broader strategy initiated after the invasion of Ukraine,...

At Greece's largest coal mine, controlled explosions and the roar of giant excavators scooping up blasted rock have once again become routine. Coal production has been ramped up at the site near the northern Greek city of Kozani as the war in Ukraine forced many European nations to rethink their energy supplies. Coal, long treated as a legacy fuel in Europe, is now helping the continent safeguard its power supply and cope with the dramatic rise in natural gas prices caused by the war. Electricity generated by coal in the European Union jumped by 19% in the fourth quarter of...

Gazprom, the state-controlled Russian energy company, cut natural gas flows through the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany by around 60% last week. The German economy ministry said on Sunday that idle coal power plants are already being upgraded so they can soon start generating electricity again. It said emergency laws would allow Germany to boost the generation of electricity from coal. Germany said it intends to cut the use of natural gas so it can fill its storage tanks ahead of the winter, when demand rises. "The situation is serious," Habeck, who is also vice chancellor, said. "We are therefore...