When trying to wiggle your way out of your self-imposed energy dependency on Russia.
Don’t get me wrong. Germans are very concerned about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Very concerned. Or they were. Up until very recently.
Germany’s Scholz in Saudi Arabia as Gas Crunch Bites Economy – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz looked Saturday to secure more energy supplies, meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman to discuss future cooperation, including on hydrogen imports, as Europe’s largest economy struggles with fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war.
Talks between the two leaders in Jeddah dealt with the relationship between their countries, Scholz said. Germany is seeking to import “large amounts of hydrogen” amid a push to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, he said.
Red alert for the German economy. After months of speculation, it is now official: Russia is turning off the gas tap on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline indefinitely. Germany is facing difficult times. Not only a cold winter is looming, but an industrial ice age.
German economy to shrink all winter as gas taps are turned off, Bundesbank says – The German economy is contracting already and will likely get worse over the winter months as gas consumption is cut or rationed, the country’s central bank said on Monday.
Once Russia turns off the supply. If it hasn’t already.
Germany takes control of Russian-owned refinery – The German subsidiary of Russian oil giant Rosneft was placed under trusteeship, giving Germany’s federal regulator control of a key source of fuel for Berlin.
The German subsidiary of Russian oil giant Rosneft was placed under trusteeship on Friday, giving Germany’s federal regulator control of the PCK refinery in Schwedt, a key source of fuel for the city of Berlin…
Rosneft Deutschland accounts for about 12% of Germany’s oil processing capacity and is one of the largest oil processing companies in the country, the ministry said.
That means bitter reality. You know, like the bitter reality others have been warning Germans about for many years now?
German economy minister says ‘bitter reality’ is Russia will not resume gas supply – Germany faces the “bitter reality” that Russia will not restore gas supplies to the country, the German economy minister said on Monday, ahead of planned halt by state energy giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) of exports to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
“It won’t come back … It is the bitter reality,” Robert Habeck said in a panel with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
That means firewood. Oh, how Green hearts are filling with warmth these days. Firewood warmth. Their policies are finally forcing, I mean convincing their compatriots to get back to Nature with a capital N!
Germans are looking to firewood for energy as natural gas prices soar – Skyrocketing prices for natural gas have Europeans scrambling for alternative energy sources. In Germany, where households face a 480 euro rise in their gas bills, people are resorting to stockpiling firewood.
Symbolic gestures are just like wind and solar energy. You know, symbolic gestures?
Germany approves energy-saving measures for winter – The German government has approved a set of energy-saving measures for the winter which will limit the use of lighting and heating in public buildings.
The government aims to reduce gas usage by 2% through the new rules.
That means immeasurable. You know, like die Preise steigen ins Unermessliche. Prices are going through the roof.
German Power Price Soars, Hitting 700 Euros for First Time Ever – Europe’s benchmark electricity price jumped more than 25% on Monday to pass 700 euros per megawatt-hour for the first time. The level is about 14 times the seasonal average over the past five years.
European gas and power prices surged as panic over Russian supplies gripped markets and politicians warned citizens to brace for a tough winter ahead.
Benchmark gas settled at a record high, while German power surged to above 700 euros ($696) a megawatt-hour for the first time. Russia said it will stop its key Nord Stream gas pipeline for three days of repairs on Aug. 31, again raising concerns it won’t return after the work. Europe has been on tenterhooks about shipments through the link for weeks, with flows resuming only at very low levels after it was shut for works last month.
That means existential threat. Like: “The existence of many companies is being threatened by the increased prices.”
German companies are supposed to save gas. But the switch to oil, for example, is being held back by bureaucracy and legal uncertainty.
The German government is calling for gas savings, with the Federal Minister of Economics leading the way – and yet, from the point of view of companies, the government is preventing exactly what it is calling for. Several associations say that it is very difficult for companies to obtain approval for retrofits.
In Germany? Uh, the same Germany in which the Germans always do precisely whatever the Media Brain Police tell them to do?
Germany braces for social unrest over energy prices – German officials have expressed fears that a worst-case winter of energy problems could prompt an extremist backlash. How bad things get may depend on how well they manage the crisis – in policy and perception.
That means “we can’t get anybody out in the streets to protest anymore…” Said the puzzled anti-nuclear protester.
My, this certainly is mysterious. Somebody call Sherlock or Columbo or somebody to figure this out.
Are we having the phase-out of the phase-out yet?
Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out Has Been a Disaster – The main justification for Germany’s nuclear shutdown is the risks associated with using nuclear energy. But these risks are exaggerated beyond measure.
German scientists are warning that the national energy transition has pushed Germany into an energy shortage. “We demand an immediate stop to the nuclear phase-out,” wrote twenty renowned technological and economic scientists in the “Stuttgart Declaration,” which is being widely discussed in Germany. The continued operation of Germany’s nuclear power plants, they said, should be guaranteed “as the third climate protection pillar” alongside solar and wind power to secure Germany’s power supply and prosperity.
Observing Hermann 