The author is a German professor named Hans-Werner Sinn. His bio says he is a German economist who served as President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research from 1999 to 2016. He currently serves on the German Economy Ministry’s advisory council. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics and Public Finance at the University of Munich.
What’s refreshing is he writes using facts when he discusses the realities of energy production. Germany has almost completed its program of shutting down both its coal powered and nuclear-powered electrical generation facilities. But since wind and solar account for 6.7% of the total energy requirements for the country it uses gas to heat most of its homes and businesses.
And even though 29% of electrical generation comes from wind and solar, whenever these resources fail (which is often) the full load of the electrical grid is powered by gas powered plants. Therefore, Germany has built a large number of gas-powered plants to supposedly allow the transition to 100% renewables. So currently, Germany is hopelessly dependent on Russian gas for heat and power. And even if the whole German land mass was covered in solar cells and the sky was filled with wind turbines they would still need a large amount of gas to heat their homes and run their industry.
Germany’s posturing about boycotting Russian gas is just that. Posturing. If Russia were to cut off gas from Germany the country would grind to a halt in less than a week. And several other European nations are in a similar situation. This makes Biden’s threats especially hollow.
Reading Sinn’s essay, I am struck that the Greens in Germany have slit their own throats. Germany had 17 nuclear power plants and an abundance of coal in the ground. They threw these things away to pay the Russians for gas that produces more of the “dreaded” green house gases than they used to produce.
Good. Let them stew on their current situation and possibly discover wisdom.
Personally, I hope the Russians do shut off gas to the West for a few weeks. I think it’s valuable for people to get what they say they want. It has a clarifying effect. Sometimes it’s even educational, depending on the intellect of the recipient.
They made their renewable bed, now they can lay in it and shiver, in the dark.
And I’d add, learn from it. Except that’s almost impossible for the truly brainwashed.
IIRC, German started shutting down their nukes after the Fukushima disaster.
I wasn’t aware Germany saw a lot of tsunamis.
The Greens call the shots there. I hope they get a taste of 100% renewable energy or as it’s known in the real world cave man life.
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.
H. L. Mencken
In the case of the Greens I hope they do get it good and hard.
But, but, but – windmills and solar panels are so beautiful! They are one with nature…
Windmills and solar panels are fine for charging up the battery on your walkman. But you wouldn’t want to power a hospital with them.