It’s magic. It almost seems like, I dunno, it’s too good to be true.
German government makes billions from debt thanks to negative rates – The German government made billions of euros from debt issuance this year thanks to negative interest rates on its securities, according to a letter, seen by Reuters, from Finance Ministry State Secretary Florian Toncar to a left wing lawmaker.
Covered in red tape.
Several Tesla Model Y vehicles have been spotted at Gigafactory Berlin. Production has been expected to start any day, but official environmental approval is still uncertain.
Over the last year, Tesla has run into a lot of red tape while trying to get approval to start production at Gigafactory Berlin, a giant new factory located near Berlin in Brandenburg. Most recently, environmental groups had managed to obtain an extension of the public commentary period for the project, which delayed approval for another month. The new period concluded last month, and Tesla has been rumored to be on the verge of approval, but it has yet to happen.
Beautiful German weapons sale of the week.
Because somebody has to admire them.
Germany: Merkel government greenlit controversial arms deal with Egypt – Former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government approved controversial weapons exports to Egypt before leaving office. Critics of the move are hoping the new government under Olaf Scholz will adopt a stricter arms policy.
What will they think of next?
Oh, not that Berlin.
A sneak peek at the new ALDI in Berlin – The fourth to open on the Eastern Shore, Berlin is getting its own ALDI. Take a sneak peek at the inside of the store before it opens Dec. 16.
Please don’t let Green Germans in on this climate crisis fun fact. It would only hurt their feelings.
Green utopians bravely ignore two fundamental problems with renewables: They are unreliable, thus requiring 100% backup, and energy-dilute, not energy-dense (like nuclear power), requiring huge tracts of land, transmission lines, mining, etc. (Apocalypse Never, Michael Shellenberger).
Wildlife concerns blunt Germany’s green power efforts – Germany is expanding its power grid to aid the transition to renewable energies, but local residents in some areas are holding up the process over concerns about wildlife.
“The problem is that wind energy is produced largely in the north, while many needs, especially industrial ones, are in the south. This electricity must therefore be transported using new networks,” Dierk Bauknecht, an expert at the Oeko-Institut research centre, told AFP.
To meet these needs, the German government has launched more than one hundred new power line projects over the past few years spanning 12,000 kilometres, according to official figures from the economy ministry.
That’s short for Social Democrat. And that’s short for Socialist. And that’s short for the big spending of other people’s money. Or “redistribuiton,” if you prefer.
Olaf Scholz is a Sozi.
Social Democrat Olaf Scholz elected as German chancellor – German lawmakers elected Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as new chancellor on Wednesday, ending 16 years of conservative rule under Angela Merkel and paving the way for a pro-European coalition government which has vowed to boost green investment.
That means suspend.
Certification of controversial Russian gas pipeline suspended by Germany – The United States and Ukraine oppose Nord Stream 2, which was completed earlier this year but is not yet in operation.
Germany’s network regulator said Tuesday that it has suspended its procedure to certify the operator of a new pipeline that would bring Russian gas to the country under the Baltic Sea because of an issue with the company’s status under German law.
Die Bundesnetzagentur setzt ihr Verfahren zur Freigabe des Gastransports durch die Gaspipeline Nord Stream 2 vorläufig aus.
But I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.*
The Dirty Truth About Clean Technologies – The poor South is being exploited so that the rich North can transition to environmental sustainability. Entire swaths of land are being destroyed to secure the resources needed to produce wind turbines and solar cells. Are there alternatives?
Yes, there are. One of them is called “nuclear energy.”
*The Germans say “even a blind chicken finds a kernel of corn once in a while.”
Beautiful German weapon sale of the week.
Because somebody has to admire them.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense has announced the completion of the first round of Leopard 2 tank-installed TROPHY active protection system live tests.
I guess you have to live here for a while to get it.
If German bureaucracy gets all up in your face when trying to get some commonplace document, as it does, then it’s certainly going to ruin your day (year? life?) when you try to build a gigafactory.
Tesla’s Elon Musk bemoans German red tape, again – Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk took to Twitter to bemoan a consultation process launched on Tuesday for local citizens to express objections to a huge factory he is building near Berlin.
The process, being repeated over concerns the first time around did not comply with regulations, is a snag in Tesla’s plans to start production of electric cars this month.
“Sigh.”
