By P Gosselin
Germany has gone from being an electricity exporter to being an importer.
Germany’s powerful environmental movement not only vilified fossil fuels, but also nuclear power. So much so, in fact, that Germany has shut down its entire fleet of nuclear power plants over the recent years.
Moreover, Germany plans to exit all fossil fuel power generation by 2038.
So where can Germany get its power from? The government doesn’t have a plan for that. Coalition partner The Greens claim that it is no problem to get it cheaply from wind and sun. But that’s a lie.
Already since Germany shut down its last three remaining nuclear power plants, the country has had to turn to its neighbors to keep the lights on. Germany has gone from being an exporter of electricity to an importer.
Blue indicates export. Red shows import. Source: Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Grid Agency).
The above chart shows Germany’s net exports and imports of electricity in gigawatt-hours since early 2021. Over the past 3 years, Germany has had to import power every May-June. But since Germany shut down its last nuclear power plants (Atomausstieg) in April this year, imports of electric power have grown like never before.
Power generation isn’t the only thing that’s getting imported. Due to the country’s record high electricity and energy prices brought on by the transition to green energies (Energiewende), German companies are leaving or planning to leave the country in droves. The environment has become too hostile to do business.
Companies plan to relocate
Euractiv here reports “16% of the medium-sized companies have already initiated steps to relocate parts of their business” and that “another 30% are considering following suit.”
“Almost two-thirds of the companies we interviewed consider prices of energy and resources to be among the most pressing challenges,” said German Association of Industry President Siegfried Russwurm, citing a recent survey of businesses.
“Electricity prices for businesses have to fall reliably and permanently to a competitive level, otherwise the [green] transformation of businesses will fail,” he said, adding that it was the “the responsibility of politicians to improve the conditions for businesses in Germany.”
In response surging energy prices, electric car giant Tesla scrapped some of its ambitious plans to build its biggest factory for batteries near Berlin and announced in February that it would focus on the US market instead.
Currently Germany’s economic growth is in recession, “with high energy costs and the EU’s carbon prices repeatedly cited as reasons for undermining the country as a location to do business.”
“We’re already observing that investment into energy-intensive industries has fallen significantly in Germany,” Clemens Fuest, the president of the Ifo Institute.
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no surprise – and that is the model US wants to follow – so all businesses will be in China – thanks Joe – china is getting a big pay back for their Buyden bribes
Yup, all the song and dance about reshoring manufacturing is just that in their energy wet dream. If you think we are letting China do too much of it now, wait 10 years.
Looks like whichever company can feed electricity into the EU interconnectors will raise the price to whatever level they wish. I wonder if you can buy futures in the French nuclear reactors? While you’re at it might as well short Mercedes and BMW.
It probably won’t get as far as the interconnectors, but simply get snaffled by local demand. They’ll get a good price for it though – until government forbids that, and blackouts spread wider.
I don’t think you can invest in French nuclear, but I note that the price of Uranium could be starting to move up. You could try buying shares in a Uranium company or ETF – but please note that this is not a recommendation and I have no financial qualifications. It’s just a thought tossed into the arena.
EDF seems to have been taken off the market now – you could trade in it up to recently
This is what happens when more than half the population is voting for more government give a ways than for more opportunity to make their own lives comfortable.
I believe it was Forest Gump that said “you can’t fix stupid “
No it was Ron White. The Forrest Gump line (supposedly quoting the character’s mother actually) was “Stupid is as stupid does”.
My internet research has transitioned from about 75% scientific technical 25% political psycho/social to just the reverse over the last 2 years, as I desperately try to find an explanation the delusional thinking that has swept through our society’s.
The madness of crowds!
Excellent book by Douglas Murray
It seems to me that the Krauts are still trying to atone for their dalliance with the Nazi Party.
But, despite what the song says, suicide is NOT painless.
Not really. The KGB in the Soviet Union had a plan. It was to infiltrate via money and connections into the various European Green parties and environmental groups with a particular emphasis on the Germans, both West Germany and Austria. The intent was to weaken the West’s interest in nuclear power and develop a dependency on imported oil and gas. These two things were the only products the USSR had that any other country would have any interest in.
The program was started by Yuri Andropov in the late 1960s. It succeeded so well that this was the reason that Andropov was selected to replace Brezhnev in 1979 despite the dismal failure of the previous KGB candidate for the top: Lavrentiy Beria. Former head of the NKVD, he was removed from power and executed in 1953 to eliminate his bid for control of the Soviet Union and the Central Committee.
Andropov’s program was the only successful political attempt against the NATO alliance. The USSR was becoming increasingly aware that it was incapable of actually succeeding in a military conflict with NATO. This was because of the growing inferiority in technology as demonstrated repeatedly in dozens of military clashes through third parties around the world. This was confirmed crushingly in Afghanistan when a simple US missile system, the Stinger, shredded Soviet military capability.
So, the Soviet counterattack was to corrupt Western European green groups and political parties and galvanize them in antinuclear directions.
I think it is actually the rise of the ArtStudent™ BandarLogic* and Boolean** thinking caused by too much rote education being given to too many stupid people.
*”We all say it, so it must be true”
**”Don’t talk to me about how dangerous it is, either its dangerous or it isn’t. Stands to reason dunnit!”
I had that question about 20 years ago and I have come to the conclusion it’s marxism. The U.S. version is called progressivism. It started in the U.S. during the last quarter of the 19th century and it bloomed to become the Progressive Era. They ended up destroying things so badly they went underground until the 21st century. They have been with us for about 150 years and you find it with FDR, LBJ and Obama. The Clintons were card carrying member but Bill was stuck with a conservative congress.
In Europe Marxism has been present just as long but the history is different. They are somewhere between communism and fascism with WWII becoming a major battle against it. Unfortunately it still exist because European never adopted the ideas behind our constitution.
I have a stack of books about a foot high exploring this topic because there isn’t much on the internet. Glen Beck has been fighting the battle for years and that is where I got my start in exploring this topic. There is far to much to post about here and it would probably take a book to properly cover this topic.
As I have posted many times before, we know the climate crusade isn’t about what the zealots claim it’s about. Otherwise nuclear power would be making a comeback.
On a different note, as other European nations follow suit, where will Germany, et al, get electricity? Transitioning away from fossil fuels, ICE vehicles and gas boilers for heating requires more electricity, not less.
Germany has this amazing faith in its politicians, They actually still believe in them, and they just know that everything will come out right if they do as they are told…
Until they find themselves defeated and invaded by someone with more common sense….
I hope the German Security Forces are all over the Greens – just finished Ben MacIntyre’s epic about Gordievsky’s role in sinking the KGB pre and post Berlin Wall. Reading of the very long term attempts – many clearly very successful – to stir up trouble in all quarters of western economies and societies by the KGB and, ergo, the Russian Communist Party, funding all facets of local “opposition”, I cannot help thinking they might be using the fraud of AWG/CC and “green energy” to engender the destruction of the German Mittelstand as well as their traditional industries. It appears to me not to be about their exports of fuel to Europe – India and China have taken up that slack although very recently that might have dipped a little.
I think the Greens are the most dangerous political element in Europe; self interested, wafer thin respectability vis a vis energy, and their complete lack of connection with the very people who depend on those people making decisions – Greens in coalition – that effect their lives directly – energy, food, health care – to do “the right thing”. They are as dangerous as the Stalinist/Maoist/PolPot dictators for whom “one death is a tragedy, 1 million just a statistic”.
Or have I read to many JlC novels?
Whose keeping track of casualties globally from the West’s left/green/WEF policies impacting energy, agriculture/fertilizer, economies, cost of living, employment, health … The middle class in the West is hurting, so the poor must be devastated around the world. Sri Lanka was the pilot study for the ‘elites’ eugenics program of depopulation, but no one is going to count the numbers.
It’s well past time for blaming and shaming. The researchers at the University of Warwick in UK published a strategy recently for government to force useless, expensive heat pumps on British citizens and to shut down use of gas for heating.
Shame on you Ned Lamb of Warwick Business school, for pushing this misery on your poor compatriots. Do you not understand that there is not, and will not be, enough ‘green’ energy, to keep the lights on, let alone run an impractical, expensive intermittent, insufficient heating tech on your impoverished fellow citizens?
It’s time to string up the WEF bastids by their necks.
May I point out that you mispelled Balls?
“Whose keeping track of casualties globally from the West’s left/green/WEF policies…”
It won’t be the fault of the left/green/WEF. It will be the prophesies of Paul Erlich coming true. You’ll see. That’s what the MSM will attribute it to.
Green is the new Red.
Courtesy of the magnificent Rush Limbaugh
“….otherwise the [green] transformation of businesses will fail….” Silly fools, that’s been the plan all along.
Translation: the Green endgame draws closer.
where will Germany, et al, get electricity?
Make the sacred Greens answer that question, and don’t let up on them when they dodge the question.
Can other countries which are connected to Germany’s grid just opt toisolate via those inter-connectors? if so, wouln’t it be sensible to do so “to preserve their own power supply”? How many more times are those neighbours expected to make sacrifices in order to allow the Germans to become stronger?
Those interconnectors will just suffer ‘technical faults’ requiring shutdowns and maintenance. Didn’t France do that to the UK a little while ago when they got annoyed at something or other?
All interconnectors can shut down and all national grids are to an extent autonomous just as all European countries have governments despite the EU…
8 years ago i was dating a German woman, near Pontiac, Mich she is a real green lib and she came back from a European/Greek vacation (flew) and she sneered that every rooftop in Germany has solar panels on it and almost none in the USA.
Germany is in for REAL trouble on this path, they will hit the wall soon.
For the winter months, German rooftop solar is almost useless. It is cloudy and snowy in German winter (I lived in Munich for almost 6 years). The official German winter solar capacity factor is between 1.5 and 2.5% depending on that winter’s weather. Your virtue signaling German date wasn’t very knowledgable.
Of course, there were also no solar panels on her OWN roof. I dislike hypocrite leftists.
Mr. Boles says:”… hypocrite leftists…”
You repeat yourself.
Germany has always been a World leader in many fields, including bone-headed stupidity.
Ironic, Germany phasing out nuclear power.
Up until June 23, 1942, Germany was the world leader in nuclear research.
They were near the forefront of nuclear reactor design and research right up until the late 70’s early 80’s. Then certain groups got into power and started to defund and run down nuclear research – closing down their nuclear power stations has been the end point of a 40+ year anti-nuclear campaign.
The Stupid German government will follow the California Plan. Ban reliable energy from being produced or utilized inside the state and buy much more expensive imported energy from neighboring states; Arizona and Nevada in CA’s case. Idiots. They deserve the pain and misery coming their way. I say that while living in CA helpless to change things in any way. Outnumbered 4:1 by the crazies. Sigh. At least I’m so old I’ll probably die before the worst of it comes to pass.
And the solution is so simple if low CO2 and clean energy were really the goal. Nuclear. But that’s not the goal. Global mass starvation and depopulation is the goal.
The Australian model of the Lib/Lab/Greens also want to go down that path.
We know they are dumb as a sack of rocks…
… but eventually they might figure out there is nowhere to import electricity from !
Let us hope.
I would have Schadenfreude, but I feel awful for the victims – the German people. OK, you can blame them for voting in these green nutcases, but let’s face it, that’s only what the rest of the western world has been doing.
If the Greens are as prone to lying and cheating in their politics as they are in their “science” then no matter how the German people vote, the Greens will rig it so that they always win.
I don’t think they are transitioning fast enough all non wind or solar must be shut down now. That is the only thing these people understand. If the general population is so gullible to believe these green liars and cheats they don’t deserve reliable and affordable energy.
The general population is gullible everywhere. Our esteemed leaders are chosen for their intelligence, education, wisdom, compassion, courage and independence. It is they who should lead not the mad, and uninformed masses. Ok so that’s not how it is but it could be if the voters supported independent representative.
“Electricity prices for businesses have to fall reliably and permanently to a competitive level, otherwise the [green] transformation of businesses will fail,” he said, adding that it was the “the responsibility of politicians to improve the conditions for businesses in Germany.”
***************
Every time I read somewhere that government and politicians need to fix a problem, I can only shake my head in despair. Does it never occur to them that maybe government and politicians are responsible for the problem(s) in the first place?
H. L. Mencken’s cynicism toward politicians kicks in with me every time I see people expecting govt and politicians to fix problems without understanding who or what is at the root of the trouble to begin with. As often as not, I suggest it might be government.
And speaking of Germany, I recall watching a video of a speech that then-President Trump gave to the U.N. General Assembly back in 2018 (I think). In the speech, he warned of dependency on Russia for one’s energy needs. The video shows the German delegation snickering at him for having said that. Little did the Germans know at the time how Trump’s warning would manifest itself and play itself out with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022.
I keep asking myself if Germans are listening to the wrong set of people for the second time in less than 100 years. I also ask myself if they will (once again) only realize it after all the damage is done. I can’t help but answer in the affirmative to both questions.
I believe this is it:
FLASHBACK: Trump Warned UN About Relying On Russian Oil, Was Laughed At By German Delegation | The Daily Caller
They are not laughing now.
Trump sees the “Big Picture”.
Most other politicians do not see it. They see the “Little Picture” which benefits them personally. Beyond that, they are clueless, or don’t care about anything but self interest.
There used to be a tv program that ran when I was young titled, “The Big Picture” which was a weekly show that took a look at world events of the time. It was a pretty good show. I learned a lot by watching it.
‘….he said, adding that it was the “the responsibility of politicians to improve the conditions for businesses in Germany.”’
Wrong. It is the responsibility of citizens to elect politicians who want to improve the conditions for business in Germany. Failing that, the so-called citizens will become serfs.
One doesn’t have to be very smart to work out that if one sells ones vote for stupid unrealistic promises (aka bribes) then one gets stupid unrealistic representatives who are also crooks.
Strangely, Green support in Germany is waning and AfD support is on the rise…
In every phase of human evolution, a superior technology/material has always replaced the previous common technology/material in use.
At no time has human evolution experienced a period, when a working commonly used technology, is abandoned before its replacement was available to take over.
That basic tenet of human society and civilisation advance, has served us well.
Unfortunately, from time to time a small group of malcontents gain positions of authority and impose rules and laws that upset the generationally well proven natural rules for survival and societal improvement. The small group usually last a few years before they are fully ignored and consigned to the book shelved gathering dust marked, ‘crazy ideas’. We all know a memorable example, Pol Pot jumps to mind, but recently there are those looking to provide more devastating ideas even than that!
We are in a period of crazy ideas being advanced as positive, while the bulk of working society know, the ‘green net zero’ ideas are interesting to debate, but fail to achieve any of the upsides the advocates claim they will.
The UK is now in the ridiculous situation where it is (available) energy poor, forced into importing gas, oil and coal at elevated prices. We do this while we have more gas and other fossil fuel reserves under out lands, the envy of most of the world. Our political class have mandated this situation. They have been captured by the anti energy ‘green’ lobby and somehow justify, it is rational to import fossil fuels but it is completely unacceptable to extract them ourselves?
All advances in society are made via energy availability. Energy is wealth.
The Net Zero policy being progressed, is the complete inverse of this fundamental economic foundation.
Germany are well down the track to collapse. The UK is next in line and France along with several other EU countries are already dependent on handouts from EU central funds.
Never in our modern history have humanity been so blind to our future, a future defined as progressing towards failure. Reliable low cost energy is being closed down and even blown up! Yet the increase in people relying on state handouts to fund energy need continues to grow.
What could possibly go wrong with this idea of producing less, while increasing liability for the welfare of more?
Here I Denmark we feel the the political constructed pseudo energy market. The other day for instance, there was a huge surplus of Dutch and German solar energy, which meant the Danish windturbins are payed to shut off. Privat solar panels had to PAY approx 0.5$/ kwh. Farmers with solarpanels had to start all equipment using electrical power, to minimize the cost of their solarpanels as they are not able to take them off grid. Still we have to pay both energy tax and distribution fees. (The new doubled up distrubution fees are to finance the extension of the grid, to accomodate all the electrical cars and heatpumps).
You look at a wind turbine or large solar array it is hard to imagine they can produce the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline every hour.
Going perfectly then, just as planned.
From the article: “So much so, in fact, that Germany has shut down its entire fleet of nuclear power plants over the recent years.”
Which just demonstrates how divorced from reality these climate change alarmists really are.
This has got to be one of the more stupid decisions made during this era of CO2 phobia. And the German people are going to pay dearly for this delusional thinking on the part of their “leadership”.