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Family buys heat pump and electric car – electricity provider terminates their power contract
In October 2026, a family of six from the Pinneberg district unexpectedly lost their electricity contract. Their provider, Grüüün, terminated the agreement with only six days’ notice because the family’s annual consumption had risen to approximately 23,000 kilowatt-hours—exceeding the contractually permitted limit of 20,000 kilowatt-hours. The family had recently installed a heat pump and purchased…
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Offshore wind power in crisis – 21,000 jobs and billions in investments at risk
Offshore wind power in Germany is facing a severe economic crisis. Due to rising construction costs, delays in grid connections, and uncertain revenue prospects, investors are withdrawing from multi-billion-euro projects. At the same time, the industry is seeing a lack of new orders, while North Sea sites already allocated for development risk remaining unused. Consequently,…
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After 26 years of solar subsidies – the industry faces a crisis without feed-in tariffs
A commentary by our author Klaus Bastian: For 26 years, Germany has promoted solar energy through state-guaranteed revenue. Operators receive a fixed feed-in tariff for the electricity they supply to the grid—a rate that is, in some cases, significantly higher than the actual market price. This price differential is now covered by the federal budget,…
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400 million euro loss – failed Thermoselect plant to be demolished
The demolition of the failed Thermoselect waste-to-energy plant at the Karlsruhe Rhine port has been underway since July 2026. Once a flagship project, it resulted in losses of approximately 400 million euros and has been idle since 2004. Technical malfunctions, a failure to consistently meet exhaust emission standards, and economic difficulties led to its collapse.…
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Media: Initial draft for fuel price cap includes various exceptions
According to media reports, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs—under Katherina Reiche (CDU)—has presented an initial draft for a planned cap on fuel prices, which includes various exemptions. The draft, as cited by the news portal Politico on Monday, states that any government-imposed maximum price must remain “strictly limited in duration.” Both Politico and the…
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Three years of bureaucratic madness – Winemaker forbidden from selling wine via a 10,000-euro vending machine
A winemaker from Sosberg in the Hunsrück region is caught up in an administrative fiasco that casts a particularly questionable light on German bureaucracy. In 2022, he invested around 10,000 euros in an automated wine-dispensing machine equipped with an electronic age-verification system. Yet, more than three years later, he is still not permitted to sell…
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Unemployment is now affecting university graduates too – engineers increasingly finding themselves without a job despite their degrees
In Germany, holding an engineering degree is no longer a reliable safeguard against unemployment. In the third quarter of 2026, unemployment among engineers and IT professionals reached a new record high. According to the VDI (Association of German Engineers) and the German Economic Institute (IW), 65,427 individuals were affected—an increase of 13.7 percent compared to…
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France releases 10 million barrels of diesel reserves – traders not required to replace stocks
Starting November 1, 2026, France will tap into its strategic diesel reserves in an effort to lower sharply increased fuel prices. The government in Paris intends to release ten million barrels of diesel and sell them to traders at below-market prices. On October 27, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu also decided that companies will not be…
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Netherlands cuts 25,000 public-sector jobs – Germany continues to expand its administration
On October 26, 2026, the Netherlands announced a sweeping reduction in bureaucracy. By 2035, approximately 25,000 full-time positions within the central government administration are set to be eliminated. Through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), a decrease in regulations, and the streamlining of government agencies, the country aims to achieve annual savings of 3.5 billion…
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Search for nuclear waste repository focuses on five percent of Germany’s land area
Less than five percent of Germany’s total land area is considered suitable for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste. According to an interim report published on Tuesday by the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE), five federal states have now been ruled out in the search for a suitable disposal site. While Federal…
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Bremen hospital group plans to cut 500 jobs due to the threat of insolvency
The municipal hospital group “Gesundheit Nord” plans to cut 500 full-time positions in order to avert potential insolvency. At the same time, several hospitals are set to undergo fundamental restructuring. At the Klinikum Bremen-Ost, for instance, the emergency department and the intensive care unit face the prospect of closure. These restructuring plans are driven by…
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Offshore industry facing a jobs crisis – up to 23,000 positions at risk
The German offshore industry faces the threat of massive job losses. On October 23, 2026, companies along the North Sea coast warned of significant gaps in orders starting in 2028. Failed wind farm tenders, rising construction costs, and high interest rates are putting numerous projects at risk. Despite ambitious government expansion targets, the sector lacks…
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German start-up buries wood in Africa for climate protection
A commentary by our author Klaus Bastian: In Namibia, the German start-up Carbonsate buries shredded wood to sequester carbon over the long term, selling CO2 certificates in the process. At the same time, Germany promotes the burning of wood as a contribution to climate protection. A single new thermal power plant in Chemnitz, for instance,…
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Volvo plunges deep into the red – 5,500 jobs to be cut
Swedish automaker Volvo Cars has reported a massive slump in its business. The company is facing significant pressure due to weak sales in China, U.S. tariffs, and difficulties in electric vehicle production. In the third quarter, the firm posted an operating loss of 5.6 billion Swedish kronor—approximately 504 million euros. Revenue fell by 23 percent,…
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Profit margin of Mercedes’ car division nearly halved in the third quarter
The profit margin for Mercedes’ car division nearly halved in the third quarter. The adjusted return on sales fell from 4.8 percent in the same period last year to 2.5 percent, the Stuttgart-based automaker announced on Wednesday. It cited a collapse in business in China and expenditures on new products as the reasons. Operating profit…