A quadrupling of EU energy prices is crippling energy intensive industries, but the EU sees this as a reason to invest in more renewables.
Guest essay by Eric Worrall
European silicon output shrinking, metal smelters closing as electricity prices quadruple, trade body warns
Probably something to tackle before those chip fabs are built, eh?
Agam Shah Sat 22 Jan 2022 // 09:38 UTC
Soaring electricity prices have derailed manufacturing involving silicon and non-ferrous metals in Europe, politicians were warned this week.
Eurometaux, a European metals association, urged action [PDF] from the EU, fearing the region could experience spikes in electricity prices for the next decade if nothing is done to control the situation.
The power crisis has already curtailed production and shut down facilities in silicon and metals industries across EU nations. “After a quadrupling of electricity prices, over half of the EU’s aluminium and zinc smelters are today operating at reduced capacity or have temporarily closed, together with a significant reduction in silicon output,” Eurometaux said.
Silicon provider Elkem, headquartered in Norway, also noted [PDF] that silicon prices in Europe reached all-time highs in October and November. That was partially driven by market factors including prices of silicon going up in China and a potential power crisis in Brazil, where the company has production facilities.
…
Europe’s ambitious chip fabrication plans may not go as planned without some action by the authorities to prevent disruptive electricity price hikes.
“Metals including aluminium, copper, nickel, zinc, and silicon are all significantly more electricity-intensive to produce than other materials and are priced globally as commodities,” Eurometaux added.
The Russian problem
During her address to the World Economic Forum, von der Leyen urged public and private investments in renewable energy: the EU is trying to shift from fossil fuels to cleaner sources.
That said, Europe is in an energy crisis right now for various messy reasons. The bottom line is that it’s running low on natural gas supplies, and prices of gas and electricity in the bloc have soared. Toward the end of last year, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom reduced its natural gas deliveries to Europe, and said this was in line with the long-term contracts it had with buyers in Europe.
…
“Fundamentally, today’s gas crisis must serve to accelerate the transition to clean energy,” von der Leyen said.
…
Read more: https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/22/eu_silicon_metals/
The EU seems to see the Russian gas supply crisis as evidence of Russia playing geopolitics with their energy supplies, but the truth is the EU are victims of the poor choices of their leaders.
The EU is suffering because they didn’t pre-order enough gas from Russia, they gambled the spot price of gas would fall, and lost badly. Thanks to Russia’s interconnector with China, Europe is effectively in a bidding war with China, and China so far is willing to spend more money.
China also suffered an energy crisis last year, thanks to incompetent green directives from Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, so Russia tripled their electricity supply to China to make up the Chinese shortfall. Chinese demand for energy IMO is the most likely cause of the pressure on EU gas prices. The EU leadership and energy traders clearly did not see this coming.
If the EU had enough domestic gas supplies they could have shrugged off the Russian gas supply crisis, or even participated in profiting from China’s energy crisis, by supplying energy to China through Russian gas pipelines.
But thanks to renewable energy fanatics like Ursula von der Leyen, the EU has turned its back on fracking and developing meaningful domestic energy supplies in favour of fantasy renewable energy schemes.
The USA is helping Europe with record US gas exports to the EU to try to make up the Russian shortfall. But European import prices are still sky high compared to US wholesale gas prices.
Biden quietly reversed his ban on federal fossil fuel extraction leasing last year, in response to spiking US domestic energy prices. US prices appear to have more or less stabilised, though wholesale US gas prices are still significantly higher than last year’s price. The relatively benign US gas price may be precarious. China is substantially ramping up LNG import capacity, which could put more pressure on global supplies.
If President Biden’s hostility to fossil fuel extraction again puts pressure on the domestic supply of US natural gas, US domestic natural gas users could end up in a bidding war with European and Chinese importers, just like Europe is currently in a bidding war with China. The European energy crisis could spread to the USA.
The EU could also have avoided this crisis by being less greedy, and pre-ordering enough gas from Russia at an affordable price to cover their domestic needs when the price was low. Instead they chose to gamble and lost badly, with the quality of life of ordinary European citizens, and the fortunes of energy intensive European industries.
The people of Europe are paying a heavy price for the incompetence of their leaders.
Prices are up, as intended, though politicians wish the rise had been slower and less obvious. Prices will go higher unless things change. If supply constraining regulation continues, the grid will destabilize as fossil-fueled generation is shuttered.
Decisions have consequences.
And those decisions are based on preventing fatalistic consequences to mankind and the environment that ironically become more likely to arise as a result of those decisions.
The people of Europe, like Griff, are not thinking period.
An industry here and industry there and pretty soon you’re talking a whole economy.
…and a lot of human suffering.
The people of Europe, like me, are looking at the future and a resolution of an urgent problem.
An urgent “problem” neither you nor others have managed to actually prove exists. Can we agree it is a hypothetical urgent problem? A problem that only exist in “models”? Or will you at some point show us where this problem is actually at? Have you seen this problem with your own two eyes? Or did you read about it somewhere?
You idiots are in a near war dispute with Russia over Ukraine which you allowed to become your largest gas supplier 🙂
Proof of how retarded Europe is right there … wonder why Russia chose this point in time to push the issue … ROFL.
The urgent problems are loss of industry , competitiveness, and connection to market prices (with household subsidies). I don’t think the usual tools of higher taxes and higher protectionist walls will work this time.
The people like you in Europe are in panic and, unlike cows, have made a circle looking inwards instead of outwards; so they are just lookinf at their own (and those of their afraid fellows) navels. The people like you, heading towards the center of the circle, are only capable of hearing each other; they are incapable of reasoning outside their circle, they refuse to talk with those that are trying to live their lives with some psycologic health, not succumbing to the frightening BS as you are.
While leaving their backsides vulnerable to the wolves!
” … urgent problem … ”
Urgent problem is not knowing if the earned income is enough to pay for heating this winter and the ones that will follow. Urgent problem is knowing that having good care at hospitals is as probable as the result of tossing a coin. Urgent problem is being forced by the state to allow invasions of our bodies against our will. Urgent problem is not knowing if our house will still be ours in the next few years, or if we will be dispossessed as a result of not having money to make stupid “adaptations” imposed by climate alarmist fanatics. Urgent problem is … the list is rather long before any entry related to “better environment”, and even longer before reaching “climate” concerns.
Have you ever felt such urgencies, griff?
Even assuming there IS a problem to fix, resolving it by creating a bigger problem doesn’t make sense.
Yes, the urgent problem of energy poverty that will result from insane anti-science policies whose sole purpose, like mask mandates, is all about controlling the masses.
Allow me a slight correction in the sequence of your words:
“The people like Griff, of Europe,
like Griff,are not thinking period”For the Green Blob, increasing prices are a feature, not a bug. Conservation is seen as a goal in and of itself, regardless of the actual effects on either the environment or economy.
Unless and until those who cater to the greens are out of office, the problems will not be solved.
Conservation, through deprivation, is the goal.
Politicians betting on prices is almost a perfect contrarian indicator to bet the other way!
(The only exception is for prices that politicians have the power to directly control. In that case, bet WITH the politicians. Just make sure you cash in your profits at some point – before the inevitable collapse occurs.)
Thank you Eric Worrall for setting the record straight.
The EU has been trying to scapegoat Gazprom for skyrocketing natural gas and electricity when, in fact, the blame lies right at their own feet.
The EU rolled the dice by failing to enter into contracts for the delivery of natural gas and relying too heavily on unreliables— instead betting they could bail themselves out using the spot natural gas market.
They lost that bet.
I’m not sure they were betting, or if it just looks that way. They wanted higher prices to help the transition into unreliable, and what they’re getting is higher prices. When they get what they said they wanted why would anyone say they took a bet and lost?
Sorry, my knowledge of English is not as good as needed here: I think you “bet” in a horse race; what is the verb when you try your luck in a lottery?
In mi opinion, the EU did not “bet”, i.e., did not make even a rough calculation of the odds: it just bought a lottery ticket.
You will also find that having approved the construction by Gazprom of Nord Stream 2, the EU changed the rules to force it to be part EU owned and open to other gas suppliers. Strange that Gazprom and Russia in general might not be too happy about this.
Politicians are the poorest allocators of taxpayer money, and other resources, ever.
The less power they have the better
Reduce government budgets to a bare minimum, such as maintaining highways.
Get the government out of education, out of energy, and out of health care, for starters
“The more numerous the laws, the more corrupt the state.” Tacitus
“The more laws and restrictions there are, The poorer people become….The more rules and regulations,The more thieves and robbers.” Laozi
Trusting the future to decision-makers who bear no responsibility for wrong decisions is a formula for disaster.
“…who bear no consequences…” is more accurate.
You are talking libertarianism to some (or maybe a considerable) extent here Willem. I’ve been there and done that. Was a Libertarian Party member for a number of years several decades ago. Gave up when I realized that they were not going anywhere and haven’t been since the party was formed in 1971.
The problem is that a sizable majority of the people of Europe and America (especially leftists) want an activist government that sticks its big nose in everything. For them government is always the solution to everything and never the creator of the problem to begin with.
Voters keep switching back and forth between Republicans and Democrats in an endless effort to try and figure out which one they like better. At least the Republicans are a little closer philosophically to libertarianism than the Democrats when it comes to the size and cost of government and government regulation. I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said that they who govern the least govern the best.
“To err is human. To REALLY screw things up requires government.” Europeans are finding this out now on the energy front.
Invest in diesel generators now and run them on vegetable oil.
In Europe the prices are only going one way – managing your own energy supply will soon be the most cost effective option.
Failing that – unicorn farts and fairy dust are the other big future potential!
The UK and EU politicians are totally fracking deluded!
Its amazing the sorts of things you learn….
Yes absolutely run diesel engines on vegetable oil – it is shame because you’re burning Biomass but at least it stops the ghastly stuff from being eaten.
The plan will work BUT, only during warm weather. A a typical UK winter the veg oil won’t ‘flow’ very well and will gum up your fuel filter, injection pump and everything.
My initial thought was to make Biodiesel – but that’s a complicated and messy business involving Methanol and Caustic Soda.
In my search to find out the price of Methanol, I came upon A Book, on eBay UK and the gist of it is that you simply mix Methanol with your vegetable oil. The book describes using Coconut Oil mixed at 1 part Methanol to 4 parts Coconut Oil
Quote:”This study reports, biodiesel derived from (i) Coconut oil blended with methanol and (ii) Coconut oil blended with methanol with Ferro fluid (Fe3O4)
Among the blends tested (B80M20, B80M20F4, B80M20F6), the blend B80E20D6 (80% Coconut oil biodiesel and 20% Methanol blended with 6ml Ferro fluid) proved to be superior, displaying better engine emission characteristics, in comparison with the other blends.
As Coco Oil is pretty rock solid at normal UK temps, maybe just 10% Methanol would work with liquid oils like Canola or Sunflower
Get the book here:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255096380222
And the Methanol is currently in an auction, 1,000 litres, you collect from Henley on Thames Oxfordshire – starting bid = £110.
Holy cow, at 6kWh per kilogram or 4,700 kWh per 1,000 litres = 2.3 pence per kWh
Ran thro any typical genset gives you electricity for barely 7 pence per kWh
WTF is not to like about that?!??!
You’d need a ‘spark ignition’ engine – I certainly wouldn’t feed any diesel engine on neat Methanol
And with a modicum of ‘craft’, capture waste heat’ off the generator to heat your house
too late to edit. sigh
edit to PS. The headline to this story is a bummer.
Concerning the recent story about ‘Energy Storage’ – is it beyond the bounds of possibility to use Aluminium as your ‘storage medium’
Use your ‘spare renewable energy’ to make Aluminium and then, contrive a single use ‘battery’ (an Aluminium fuel cell basically) that returns you the energy that went into making the Ally
At best guess about 60kWh per kilogram
Work that one out – make an Aluminium ‘battery’ of the same weight as a Tesla battery = about 500kg and even in UK conditions of 2 miles per kWh, how far would that car go before you’d need fit a new ‘lump’ of Ally to ‘refuel’ it?
I get 60,000 miles. Would that make EVs viable?
“Under my plan […] electricity rates would necessarily sky rocket.”
Von der Leyden’s comments show how confused and illogical EU leadership is.
Nat gas prices are spiking because of shortage for winter heating thanks to fracking bans and lack of summer Russian purchases put into storage. She thinks that means more renewables. But the need for more gas was because at present renewables are not up to the winter task (it’s dark more so more solar won’t help, and winter highs mean no wind so more windmills won’t help either).
The EU spin is no matter what the actual situation, use it to advocate for your fantasy renewables solution. Ignoring reality usually does not end well. So EU metals processing simply moves to China, who is building affordable coal fired electric generation.
Maybe that’s the plan?
Just to illustrate the solar problem, today in Hamburg, Germany
Sunrise 8:18
Sunset 16:48
Day len 8:30
Knock an hour off each end since solar panels don’t work when the sun is low and you get at best 6:30 hours of electricity. Yes, I’m being optimistic. It’s likely more knock off 2 hours on each end of the day.
And this isn’t the worst. On 22 Dec the day length was 7:27.
Well said, Eric!
“.. urged public and private investments in renewable energy: the EU is trying to shift from fossil fuels to cleaner sources.”
You can be assured that fossil fuels were the go to energy for silicon production last year. This is why they cited a quadrupling of “energy” prices. They actually control the windmill prices, but these are not working to plan to even supply light and appliances for consumers.
Private investors are easy to induce. They’ll just charge …ah… quadruple the price. Recall the zeal of Gov and activist cronies in defunding the fossil fuel industry, turning down longterm cheap natural gas and outlawing fracking large reserves in UK.
The sanctions Bojo and Jobo put on Russia, coupled with destruction of their own energy sectors, quadrupled Russia’s income. They are using this byproduct-of-Western-stupidity windfall to develop manufacturing and farming to supply what was blocked. I’m sure they could supply y’all with, silicon, copper, aluminum at, say only triple last years price.
Unmentioned is that natural gas is the critical feedstock for fertilizer. Europe’s not making fertilizer either, last I heard. With less fertilizer available at higher price, you can expect next fall’s crops to be scarce and expensive.
Don’t even ask about the cost for fertilizer and other farm chemicals in the USA for 2022, but they’ve about doubled from 2021. The EUs not the only country that needs to be thinking beyond this year.
Mother told me I had to eat my vegetables, but now we stateside have to make some decisions.
Even with Biden in the mix, I’d still vote Broccoli
Very good Griff!
Broccoli is like pubic hair. Bush it aside and get into the good stuff.
I hesitate… what kind of vegetable are you, griff?
Allow me to add (it is my job): fertilizers are critical to ensure (1) higher availability ( = productivity of crps); (2) their higher nutritional qualities (yes, this is NOT genetical! Some species have more this or that; but each species needs good feeding to produce at top level; ex., the potassium content of bananas or apples; the vitamin and other oligonutrients of some fruits; etc.: higher content is correlated with better nutrition of the plants); (3) their longer shelf life (and thus the reduction of post-harvest losses). All this can be measured with objectivity is has been observed for many decades.
Even worse than high energy prices, is unreliable energy when running a smelter or metal foundry. It is also a real concern for those making glass, or using heat in any critical batch process such as refining petroleum.
They are talking about making semi conductors for which you need rock solid extricate supply
The green energy chickens will eventually come home to roost.
I thought the gas shortage was due to less wind power than planed for.
I am somewhat hopeful that eventually there will either be a magical technology breakthrough that makes the Greens dreams possible (which I seriously doubt), or the impracticality of it all will sink in, not to the true believers of course, but with the political and business establishment, and we will move on from our present fantasies of 100% renewables. It will take some time.
“It will take some time”. But in the mean time, how many people have to die? Collateral damage but still……….
“… some action by the authorities to prevent disruptive electricity price hikes …”.
You will have to replace the authorites first, because the current authorities’ policy is to actively create disruptive electricity price hikes.
It is time to change the word “renewables” to the word “unreliables” for wind and solar. That is a more correct way to characterize them.
And “renewables” should apply to nuclear energy, which requires minimal replacement of the structure, unlike solar and especially wind, over a lifetime of 60+ years.
The current UK wind output is a great example of unreliable. The UK has around 12 GW of wind and the current output is only 1.77 GW as Gridwatch is showing at the moment..
Here in AB we have 2.27gw of wind currently producing 52MW 2.2%
Overperforming
By 2030 it will have 60GW, most of it well offshore, more widely distributed around the UK coast. Plus 10 1.5GW HVDC connections to 6 different areas of Europe.
You’re gonna need a bigger windmill…
You’re quick correct, a very much bigger windmill. Even at today’s demand and today’s situation 60GW is way off the mark. Today short of 3.5GW from 11,037 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of over 24.4GW so we’d be getting 8.5GW from 60GW of 25K+ of idle windmills. where the other 34.5GW will come from is anyone’s guess
What Griff and all the other green renewable energy disciples forget/ignore is there’s not much wind across Europe today. None in France or Germany and countries around This is real time so it may or may mot change later
https://www.eldoradoweather.com/forecast/europe/europeanwind.html
Also you will be in disputes with most of Europe by then so the inter-connectors will be useless.
If it’s producing less than 1/6th of capacity, installing 5x more is the solution?
Idiot.
And when the wind isn’t blowing Griff?
Oh, um, yeah….
I also note out mate Griff didn’t tell anyone the French told the UK what to do with any more interconnectors to leach French power
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1553226/macron-rejected-channel-underwater-power-cable-france-uk-aquind-blackout-energy
Aller se faire cuire un œuf
It’s going to have to get a lot worse before it starts to get better.
…. not to mention that this energy/economic crunch is allowing Putin to put the squeeze on Ukraine
at least “Britain Pursues More Muscular Role in Standoff With Russia on Ukraine”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/world/europe/uk-russia-ukraine.html
a tip of the hat to the stiff upper lip Brits!
Well, Ukraine is nothing but a seditious Russian province. As usual, the West sides with rebels and terrorists rather than supporting and stabilizing legitimate governments. Nothing has changed since 1914 when Germany and Austria fighting off Serbian terrorists found no solidarity. For many decades it has been Russia (until 1990, even the loathed Soviet Union, arguable a terror regime by itself) doing their best to keep anarchy in check, while the West constantly fails to support them – Afghanistan, Persia, Yugoslavia, Syria, now Ukraine. The anti-human, anti-civilization, toxic, destructive and plainly criminal forces always find international support in the West, where those in charge seem to look with devilish glee on murdering terrorists toppling Kings and Presidents and returning whole nations to worse than medieval conditions…..
No worries Alex. They’ll be back in Berlin soon enough.
“How Joseph Stalin Starved Millions in the Ukrainian FamineCruel efforts under Stalin to impose collectivism and tamp down Ukrainian nationalism left an estimated 3.9 million dead.”
https://www.history.com/news/ukrainian-famine-stalin
Could not say it better
My natural gas supplier in Australia just sent me a letter advising that unit prices are increasing around 15% due to global demand. Great! Meanwhile, there is a ban on fracking gas in my state. Apparently, there is a massive supply but it is locked away…
time to start yelling at your politicians
from the Commondebt of Massachusettts- which just discovered it handed out an excess 2.5 billion dollars to the unemployed during Covid and which has concluded it’ll never get most of it back- meh, what’s a mere 2.5 billion now a days- given that we’re gonna have to spend hundreds of trillions to prevent the Earth from warming up another degree
You mean: In the attempt to prevent that warming, which most of us would welcome and all of us would benefit from, yet nobody could know was happening, when it was happening — because the much-ballyhooed increase is an average drawn from years of data.
Climate change is “catastrophe” in slow motion. The problem is, it takes more years to materialize than any of us get to live.
Ask instead: why are our lives being sacrificed for this b.s. non-starter?
Meanwhile, back in Third World California, home of the EV nightmare……
Bwaahahaha… Climate change activist suffers electric car calamity…
Former San Luis Obispo mayor and climate change activist Heidi Harmon attempted to “do the right thing,” and travel to a rally in San Francisco in an electric car. After multiple attempts to find a working charging station in San Jose, Harmon realized charging the car would take up to seven hours and there was no way she could make the rally. Harmon posted multiple videos about her difficulties in traveling in an all-electric vehicle. She discusses calling the police or asking someone to send a helicopter to rescue her.
Harmon spearheaded an effort last summer to enact a city energy policy requiring all-electric new buildings. At that time, Mayor Harmon sat on the Central Coast Energy Board of Directors, the electric energy company she was promoting. Harmon stepped down from her mayoral seat in August to battle climate change, Harmon said. Harmon is now working as a senior public affairs director for the Romero Institute’s Let’s Green CA initiative, a nonprofit affiliated with Central Coast Community Energy.
Harmon posted multiple videos during her attempt to charge the electric car she was driving on the Lets Green CA Instagram page, which she later shared to her own Instagram page. Since then, some of the videos have been deleted, and Harmon disabled her personal Instagram page.
SOURCE — CAL COAST NEWS
https://calcoastnews.com/2022/01/slo-climate-change-activist-heidi-harmons-electric-car-calamity/
https://youtu.be/qukfma9S2o8
Gotta love it!
—-
SLO Mayor Heidi Harmon resigns, denies connection to FBI caseAugust 27, 2021
By KAREN VELIE
Amid allegations she took gifts from a marijuana businessman, San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon announced Thursday she is stepping down to battle climate change.
First elected mayor in 2016, Harmon said she plans to continue living in SLO while she works as a senior public affairs director for the Romero Institute’s Let’s Green CA initiative, a nonprofit affiliated with electric provider Central Coast Community Energy. During Harmon’s tenure, the SLO City Council voted to contract with Central Coast Community Energy to provide electricity to residents.
Harmon suggested she has to choose between having a job or serving as mayor, even though the vast majority of mayors in SLO County have full time jobs.
When asked if an FBI investigation into corruption and the arrest Wednesday of marijuana kingpin Helios Dayspring had influenced her decision to step down, Harmon said she is not under investigation and that she properly reported Dayspring’s donations.
In 2018, Dayspring and his marijuana brand Natural Healing Center hosted a fundraiser for eight politicians including Harmon. While Harmon accepted multiple donations from people affiliated with the marijuana industry during the event, she listed those donors as retired or under a non-marijuana related occupation on her financial report.
Harmon also failed to disclose Dayspring’s non-monetary donation until after CalCoastNews reported on the issue.
Shortly before Harmon voted for a resolution establishing criteria for city staff to rank marijuana shop applicants, Dayspring allegedly ordered his staff to give Harmon two bags containing approximately $1,000 worth of complimentary marijuana products, according to one of Dayspring’s former business partners. Harmon did not respond to email questions about the alleged gift.
Following Harmon’s Sept. 26 resignation, the SLO City Council will have 30 days to appoint a new mayor or to call for a special election. In the interim, Vice Mayor Erica Stewart will serve as mayor.
I mean really, you can’t make this S up…Helios Dayspring?!?
If Biden and his Leftist administration understood economics, foreign policy, and basic math. they’d rapidly be issuing federal onshore/offshore oil leases and drilling permits, end the big banks’ ESG Great Reset scam which is slashing financing to oil companies, restart the Keystone and other pipelines, and end all new wind/solar projects…
If these policies were implemented, the US could easily replace Russia as the EU’s primary energy supplier, and return to being 100% energy independent as we were under Trump, but, alas..
The EU is now dependent of Russia oil/gas, especially since Biden idiotically signed off on the Russian Nord Stream pipeline, which was a HUGE mistake.
Russia will invade Ukraine and the EU and the US sanctions against Russian will not be that detrimental because the EU desperately needs Russian oil/gas to survive..
Biden is the worst POTUS in US history…
Russia wants Ukraine back in its empire far more than it wants to avoid any sanctions. It’s willing to take the wrist slapping. Putin thinks that if mother Russia can surive a few million Nazi soldiers it can survive the worst possible sanctions. The empire is too important. Then after a few years, the sanctions will fade away. Then it’ll be time for Belarus. Putin wants to go down in Russian history as Putin The Great.
Joseph-san:
Yes, the EU needs the Russian oil/gas more than it needs good relations with the Ukraine.
One would hope we’d learned from history that it’s never a good idea to appease tyrants, but, alas, we’re making the same mistakes again..
Since Biden approved Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline, the US lost its leverage, so Russia no longer needs to play nice with Ukraine.
Especially after the world witnessed Biden’s disastrous Afghan withdrawal, Putin realizes Biden is not up to the task and will run circles around him.
Biden only approved the pipeline because there was nothing he could do about it – it was going to be completed- he had no power over it. The fact that Biden pulled out of Afgan in a hurry really has little to do with how America will respond in other areas. Maybe Putin thinks that but he’s fooling himself on that. Germany has already said it might stop the pipeline if Russia invades: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-signals-it-could-halt-gas-pipeline-if-russia-invades-ukraine-2022-01-18/
an invasion of Ukraine will also result in finally getting Europeans to raise the military budgets as requested by President Trump
and, I suspect, if Russia gets bogged down in Ukraine, other areas in Russia that are unstable might act up again- Chechnia, Georgia, central Asia- no doubt the Taliban might like to spread its influence
Russia should be careful- remember how much land it stole from China- which clearly never forgets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur_Annexation
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile—hoping it will eat him last.” Sir Winston Churchill
As he said, he most importantly does not want hostile NATO near its border. Pretty reasonable stance I would say.
NATO hasn’t been hostile. It’s built up after Putin annexed Crimea. The root of the problem is Putin who wants to be Putin the Great, Restorer of the USSR.
“It’s built up after Putin annexed Crimea”. Err Nato was founded in late 40’s no?
not what I mean- I mean the hostility has built up after Putin annexed Crimea- well, the current hostility- there has been hostility between Russia and the west for centuries
Russia has always had big ambitions, once thinking of itself as “the third Rome” (empire that is). Russia would be smarter looking at China in its backyard- that it stole from China.
Wondering if someone should be checking hospital wards and morgues, this kind of story is Griff’s lifeblood, not like him to not come out and inform us that more local gas supply can’t possibly help with supply and cost where gas is in shortage.
It’s a bit early for Griff only just 7am in the UK.
He’ll be along later ignoring current electricity generation situation with demand ramping up and gas already at 59% and wind + solar at 7%. Supposed th be another dull calm day too.
Stellantis joins Toyota with the BEV revolution skepticism-
EV push poses environmental, social risks, says Stellantis CEO | National Post
All that’s happening at present is the well off are driving EV sales with their subsidies and special privileges while they drive up resource prices like lithium carbonate six fold in the last year. So much for EVs for the masses and some are beginning to notice-
Booming Electric Car Sales In Europe May Soon Face A Reality Check (forbes.com)
Here in the UK in 2029, before the 2030 ICE ban on new vehicle sales I will probably a large 3.0L 4×4 to replace my Discovery 4 (bought in 2013 and currently on 120,000 miles). Current choice either a Toyota HiLux double cab or an INEOS Grenadier. I suspect there will be a lot of large engine diesel sales in 2029.
If I don’t there is no way we will be able to use an EV to tow our beautiful Airstream 684 caravan (trailer to you Yanks). It weighs 2.65 tons.
People may remember that, when Obama sent the USA down the renewables path, he stated at a rally that, “Electricity prices must necessarily skyrocket”. At least he told one truth.
Lithium mining 2.4 billion dollar project abandoned.
“Rio Tinto’s chief executive said on Tuesday he was concerned about the Serbian prime minister’s comments against the company’s lithium project, in his first remarks after Belgrade revoked the global mining company’s exploration licences.
Bowing to environmentalists, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic pulled the plug on Rio’s lithium project last week and accused Rio of providing insufficient information to communities about the project.
Rio is reviewing the legal basis for the decision and could sue Serbia as it tries to salvage the $2.4 billion project.”
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/rio-tinto-ceo-concerned-about-serbian-pms-comments-lithium-project-2022-01-25/
Oh, look, the WEF has raised its ugly head, alongside the unelected despot von der Leyen.
It’s frightening how much this nasty little cabal is running our lives.
I mean, if something isn’t working, you just do more of it, faster, and harder until it does. Right?
play stupid games win stupid prizes.
Voters get the Governments they deserve.
The old methods of adaption in Europe like driving small, diesel, manual transmission cars obviously won’t work this time. I guess they will have to start ripping down fence boards and lighting up the building cladding to get warm.
To paraphrase a meme from the 1970s: Let the Bureaucrats Freeze in the Dark.
Not exactly a gamble, but putting in place the Enron spot-price model of 2001 legendary failure, takes the biscuit for ideological insanity. This is going exactly the same way.
The only way the Enron insanity could possible be enforced in the EU is that the London School of Economics actually runs it.
Hey wait – I wonder who graduated there? Why none other than
LSE Public Lecture: Dr Ursula von der Leyen
https://www.alumni.lse.ac.uk/s/1623/interior-hybrid.aspx?sid=1623&gid=1&pgid=5601&cid=10599&ecid=10599&crid=0&calpgid=415&calcid=1102
Join us for a lecture by Ursula von der Leyen, LSE alumna and President of the European Commission.
You can fool all of the people all of the time when “unity” is the overriding instruction set. Just don’t confuse it with reality or markets or world peace.
Seems to me that that building more of the stuff that doesn’t work well to get more that doesn’t work well is the accepted definition of insanity. Also the definition of stupidity.
The EU will have much more to worry about than metals and silicon, if a shooting war starts in Ukraine.
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/the-plot-is-thickening-with-germany-and-france-no-longer-in
Putin would cut off gas, which would create chaos all over Europe, because storage has never been this low at this time of the year.
Spot prices for gas could go to $50 to $100 per million Btu, versus $4/million Btu in the US