By P Gosselin
Germany’s shift to green energy has really turned into a nightmare.
It’s the dead of winter and already the first heating gas storage facility in Germany is near empty, only 6% full!
Storage facility. Symbol image generated by Grok
Germany desperately needs to pray for a warm February miracle if the country is to avoid an energy disaster and a state of emergency.
Currently, there’s no danger to private households as their supply is guaranteed. The risks, however, are for industry. Should storage levels drop to even more dangerously low levels, then energy-intensive industry will be forced to shut down — a step that would cripple the already struggling German economy.
Bavarian gas storage levels at critical lows
No place is as critical as in the southern state of Bavaria. Apollo News describes a worrisome situation regarding Bavarian natural gas storage facilities, where fill levels are now significantly below legal requirements.
While the Federal Government mandates a fill level of 40% for Bavarian storage facilities by February 1st (due to their strategic importance for Southern Germany), the actual average in Bavaria is currently just 25%.
Only 6% full – virtually empty!
The situation is particularly dramatic at the Wolfersberg storage site, which is filled to less than 6%, making it effectively empty. Other sites like Inzenham-West (under 19%) and Bavaria’s largest facility, Breitbrunn (approx. 20%), are also far below the target.
Germany-wide levels dip below 38%
Across Germany, the situation is hardly better. Total storage levels have fallen below 38%. According to the “Natural Gas Emergency Plan,” levels below 40% are officially classified as “critical.” Yet, the German government and media continue to keep silent on the issue, which is only spawning and fueling conspiracy theories. There are reports that the government has stopped updating storage levels.
Industrial hubs face shutdowns
Since Germany’s largest storage facilities are located in the North (Lower Saxony/North Rhine-Westphalia), the Upper Bavarian sites (representing about one-eighth of total capacity) are essential for supplying the industrial hubs of Southern Germany.
In neighboring Austria, storage levels remain significantly higher at approximately 50%.
This situation would likely be alleviated if Germany allowed Gas Fracking as this would free up a cheap supply of natural gas within the country. I know Frackingin the US created a supply of gas with prices as low as $2.00/MMBtu. Not only could Germany offer lower gas prices but they would be subjected to Putinized pricing.
Current US Henry Hub pricing is between $2.90 and $4.00/MMBtu
There are 3.412142MMBtu in a MWh and Germany pays €40.39/MWh so Germany charges $11.84/MMBtu. They NEED to start Fracking ASAP.
The situation could be alleviated by opening up the North Stream Pipeline that didn’t blow up.
Those pipelines only allowed Germany to pretend it was a green paradise. They made themselves totally reliant on a single source of gas, controlled by a dictator who was openly willing to use his domination of European – particularly German – energy supplies as a weapon of coercion and intimidation. Germany would not be in this situation if it had maintained and expanded its nuclear fleet and exploited its own gas resources.
Well…extended fracking allowed the US to enjoy low gas bills…don’t you think that everyone is allowed to choose his supplier or source to his own liking? Russian gas was and is a serious competitor to US shale gas/oil from a simple economic standpoint. Don’t like it? Well lower your costs, you can’t? Well get lost. That’s how a free market works my fellow “US-americans”…don’t try to twist your own principles as you do disqualify by doing so.
From a libertarian standpoint it doesn’t matter who governs, all goverments are crooks. Likewise on both sides of the pond, if you like it or not 😉 .
Not so much extended their nuclear plants as not shut down three perfectly good ones. There are also six others they could restart.
I hope you ain’t American,
if so
1 ) you are all about free markets, therefore stop talking shit who can deal with whom
2) Germany shifting dependence from Russia to US and paying 250% more now.
3 ) Putin was elected with 85% (even Mediazona/BBC had him polled at 84% before the election. )
I’d say – stop this dictator nonsense,
especially as noone has installed more dictators than the USA, and the USA never had nor ever will have problems with protecting and/or installing them,
neither will you till the moment Fox tells you to hate them(because they stopped following US Orders).
4) Your country is the biggest creator and abuser of monopols,
no matter Microsoft, Facebook(should have never been allowed to buy Instagram),
Google etc, following JD Rockefellers doctrine “competition is a sin”
5) Your country is the country of coercion ( ever heard of Venezuela,Greenland or about 100 other countries ).
Coercion via military, via sanctions, forcing regime changes by ruining their economies.Coercion via Tariffs
Using terrorists (Gladio for beginners ) etc etc.
If you are American your comment only shows a total lack of awareness and objectivity if you so shameless to post this stuff.
There are no “Free Markets” among nations. That is a myth.
And even within a blink of an eye…
Why don’t they open the pipeline back up? It is easily repaired.
In Germany, unconventional fracking is banned; conventional fracking is theoretically allowed but practically blocked by strict environmental rules and political opposition. Crazy!
Energy logic and planning seems to critically low in Germany.
The intelligence of the German political class is critically low when it comes to CO2. Apparently, they are easily misled by corrupt climate scientists and this causes them to do very stupid things with regard to their power grids.
Not quite pitchforks and torches time.
Interestingly, Germany have invited about 6 North European pretend leaders to a conference this week, to discuss the strength and how to ‘exploit the vast wind capacity of North or German Sea’
Apparently the windmills will power every country from Ireland to Norway and south to Germany/
They have not said if they believe in Leprechauns.
Getting close.
You used my favorite expression!
Just watch out for the next cold spell coming from the north/east. It is currently already freezing in Germany but it is likely to get much colder in the first 2 weeks of februari.
Oh, dear….how sad.
Gosh, just bad luck, l guess.
Could be as early as this coming weekend.
Mein gott
They were right.
Maybe Singing ” Jumping Jack Flash It’s a
gas, gas, gas ”
could summon some more fuel.
If this is correct there is a good chance they won’t get through February without major disruptions. Gas is a fairly small part of their electricity generation, only around 15%. But if there were to be a February freezing calm with little or no wind generation, minimal solar….?
Wind 27–32% of total generation.
Coal 21-24% .
Solar PV: 14-18%.
Natural Gas: 10-17%.
Biomass/Biofuels: 8-10%.
Hydropower: 3-5%.
Nuclear: None
Many people heat their home with gas.
And gas is the back-up for wind and sun.
The German Gas network
Many people are cooking wirh gas
“Many people are cooking wirh gas”
Not the German state by the sound of things
I used the sentence as word by word not as phrase 😄👍
Around 6%. Not that many.
There are big regional differences, cities like Berlin f.e. or Frankfurt with old houses have a lot more than 6%, it depends on size and distribution of the regional net.
Burning natural gas in the home is the most efficient way to use it.
Solution is simple — more wind and solar. They can’t run out of those … or so they will say.
The real solution is nuclear but even whispering that is verboten.
That IS what they are saying. The new North sea wind turbine ‘deal’ has been signed and deals w all the issues concerning energy shortage and independence..apparently.
That’s their line: supporting a failed policy and believing it will have a better outcome in the future and anyway, ‘we’ have to transit so that needs to go ahead first and then ‘we’ ( i mean us) deal w the consequences by rationing. And that is ‘good’ because we need ti get sustainable and back to a balanced Nature. See how this goes?
De-industrialize is part of it. It’s all good…man!
The outlook for the next week is anything but helpful to German energy demand.
I am sure the snow covered solar panels will come into their own though, so no doubt the Green Lobby activists in Germany are very relaxed.
The UK could send over our very own Ed Miliband to help advise on what to do when physics overtakes insane renewable energy policies.
He thinks turning the domestic thermostat down to 15deg C or (60deg F ) when it s freezing outside is a good idea??
On the plus side, that should sort out the pension payments explosion, demand is bound to reduce as winter sets in……
“He thinks turning the domestic thermostat down to 15deg C or (60deg F ) when it s freezing outside is a good idea??”
That seems to be the Euro solution to energy shortages. Minimal heating in the winter and minimal cooling in the summer.
When I was in Barcelona several years ago, they were in the final stages of implementing cooling restrictions for hotels at no lower than 27C (81F). That’s a great way to kill off tourism.
Sorry merchants of fear, but doom and gloom got chanceled again (Poor Rolling Stones):
Gas storage facilities emptier than usual: Is the supply secure?
We will see when February is colder than “modeled” 😂
Yeah, and the fear-mongering will look as stupid as this:
I wonder what is more stupid, the propaganda linked or the one who linked such BS propaganda.
The merchants of fear are the climate alarmists, who think it should be colder than 150 years ago.
Not to forget that the president of the German Netagence (Bundesnetzagentur) is a buddy of green ex Minister Robert Habeck responsable for all the “shit happens” Green Policy.
He never will say “we have a gas problem”. He himself is the problem.
The average storage tank capacity is considerably below the 6 year average. The storage tank fill levels were lowered by recent legislation. Industry will need to idle to avoid home heating failures. The next 30 days could demonstrate the magnitude of Merkel’s Energiewende failure.
It will just turn out to be a Nothingburger. Germany will be fine.
…and people fined, with exorbitant energy prices, lost of industry, production, money, jobs. Can’t be better in the best Germany we ever had.
What do you smoke over the day?
You should tell the people running German industry. I doubt they would agree.
The use of gas for electricity in January until 26th.
https://x.com/75Jamin/status/2015698750862225441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2015698750862225441%7Ctwgr%5Eb26efa9cafdfbae03589af07f55536b988c32773%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fapollo-news.net%2Fwegen-der-zerstrung-der-deutschen-kernkraftwerke-gas-wird-immer-wichtiger-und-knapper%2F
Ca. 20% of gas is used for electricity generation.
So he just ignores 2017 and 2021 that had almost the same amount of gas production?
Electricity production by source, Germany
Gas hit the peak during a time nuclear was still running. Looks more like wind and solar have taken over.
I talk about the not finished January 2026 use of gas. You produce a nice strawman. 🤣
Germany will be fine.
I do hope you prove correct.
Troll alert number 937
So the pipelines are still functioning and gas is flowing.
You could have said that without the derogatory comment.
The tanks are there for emergency purposes.
Hopefully for the sake of the people no emergencies happen
Guaranteed by … laws? The same laws that have created this crisis? I’m sure that will heat homes as well as anything.
Our tractorman used to say “Ye cannae dae ocht if ye’ve nocht ti dae ocht wi’. ”
(You can’t do anything if you have nothing to do anything with.)
So when there isn’t any gas left how will they heat their homes, cook etc.?
There has been several energy shortages due to renewables and poor planning affecting millions of people and the media downplays them and they are quickly forgotten. Shutting down industry in a manufacturing economy isn’t a minor problem and it will reverberate long after/when/if the energy is restored.
German households switched after WW2 from coal to heating oil, because it was convenient (lesds space, dirt and work,) . Then many households switched to natural gas, because it was convenient (less space required, independent from fluctusting oil prices…well for a while). Few households switched to heat pumps (because it was convenient, less service provides required, gas is dangerous etc.). Then even fever hoiseholds switched to wood burning (because it was convenient, relativly cheap, “renewable”, pellets were made from “garbage” aka saw dust).
Well all those changes made everyone happy, the one way or the other. Now a huge shit disturber (aka goverment) stepped in, fucked up all “naturally” established different energy supplies and voilá shit hit the fan. It’s almost like on a ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island when the idiot captain calls through the intercom “killer whales on starboard” and all brainless morons shift simultaneously to one side. Well sadly the ferry doesn’t capsize but you feel the tilt…”oh no wait, whale she blows on port”…I could go on…
Winter has come and it will stay for a while. Good for the german households that they won’t feel the same pinch as the industry. It’s just sad that when their jobs get lost they simply can’t afford to pay the bill. sarcasm tag required?
If only they had a neighbour to the west which has an abundance of gas in the ground with the most modern infrastructure to send it to them….
Oops …. poured concrete in the wells, just to show the world how GreenGoodBest ™ the leftards in The Netherlands are.
Sometime I think we deserve what we’re getting.
You just can’t get dumber than government.
Germany has lignite, a certain amount of coal, and LARGE areas where fracking could be profitable. Instead, Germany, to destroy hydrocarbon energy, has blown apart plant after plant, AND turned off nuclear power plants for moronic reasons. The people of Germany need to throw the perps in prison in El Salvador and get going on rebuilding their country.
It will take years, but Germans can do it!
Storage facility. Symbol image generated by Grok
Why show this slop. It really takes away from the authenticity of the reporting.