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Russia stops gas deliveries to Finland
According to the Finnish energy company Gasum, Russia stopped gas deliveries to Finland on 21 May. This was also confirmed by the Russian state-owned company Gazprom Export. Gazprom Export refers to outstanding payments for gas delivered in April. The Finnish company Gasum has confirmed that it does not accept the Russian demand to pay for…
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Oil embargo: Greece and Malta prevent tanker ban
The planned oil embargo against Russia is increasingly threatening to come to nothing. Although several states are already no longer importing Russian oil, Russia is selling more oil than before the war. Now the EU wants to ban European tankers from transporting Russian oil. However, Greece, Malta and Cyprus do not want to participate in…
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France is heading for massive power supply problems
In France, the state-owned energy company Electricite de France SA (EDF) has revised its nuclear power target downwards for the third time this year. The power supply in France is thus becoming increasingly critical. The nuclear power plants operated by EDF form the backbone of the European interconnected system. France is traditionally an electricity exporter…
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How can the introduction of small nuclear power plants be accelerated?
The US is debating the regulatory process of modular nuclear power plants. The commissioning of a modular reactor helps to improve energy supply and reduces dependence on coal and gas. But to make it happen soon, the licensing process needs to be sped up. Building large, conventional nuclear power plants is slow and expensive. That…
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The majority of ministers in the traffic light government drive official cars with combustion engines
Federal government ministers want motorists to switch to electric vehicles. In doing so, they never miss an opportunity to point out the associated climate protection and, more recently, to reduce dependence on Russian energy sources. To this end, the government encouraged motorists to buy an electric vehicle with lavish subsidies. With so many arguments, one…
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Do electric cars really drive with zero emissions?
Both to achieve climate protection targets and to reduce dependence on imports of natural gas, oil and coal, motorists should switch from combustion engines to electric drive. For this reason, the state subsidizes the purchase of an electric car with up to 6,000 euros. The question is whether an electric car really does produce zero…
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The electricity war over direct current and alternating current
In the 1880s, the electrification of the first cities and households begins. With the marketing of the incandescent lamp by Thomas Edison and the first of his company in the USA, the electrification of cities spreads rapidly. As early as 1882, Edison put his first power plant into operation in New York. It supplied its…
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Russian raw materials not dispensable everywhere
When politicians talk about a gas and oil embargo, they mainly talk about fuels, heating and power generation. It is impressive how little they know about the value chains in German industry. The fact that gas and oil are also important feedstocks for the chemical industry is virtually unnoticed. Gas and oil produce important basic…
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Gas supplies from Qatar – negotiations stall
The EU not only wants an oil embargo on Russian crude oil, but also to become independent of Russian gas as quickly as possible. Germany is counting on liquefied gas from the USA and Qatar. Economics Minister Habeck returned from his first trip to Qatar full of euphoria and spoke of firm agreements. Just a…
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Electricity price: cities save on street lighting
The drastic rise in energy costs is forcing not only private households to save, but also local authorities. Now, the first cities are planning savings in street lighting. High electricity price forces cities to save on street lighting Alexander Handschuh of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities considers reduced street lighting to be one…
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Network operators rehearse black start after blackout
The horror scenario for power grid operators is a widespread power failure, a so-called blackout. A blackout can have many causes. Weather or natural disasters, hacker attacks, technical defects, sabotage or an overload of the networks can lead to it. The major network operators are now preparing for a large-scale blackout. Ampirion and TransnetBW, two…
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Limit use of gas-fired power plants: Industry wants to conserve gas reserves
Large energy consumers from industry are considering limiting the use of gas-fired power plants. The goal is to conserve gas reserves. While the Association of the Industrial Energy and Power Industry (VIK) is backing coal-fired power plants, Habeck advocates a pragmatic approach. VIK relies on coal-fired power plants to conserve gas reserves The Association of…
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Electric car: discussion about subsidies
According to the coalition agreement, the traffic light regime wants to completely abolish the subsidy for electric cars from 2025. Currently, buyers of electric cars receive an environmental bonus of up to 9,000 euros. However, according to the coalition agreement, the subsidy for an electric car will only amount to 4000 euros from 2023 and…
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Gas embargo: trade prepares emergency supply
For a few days now, less and less gas has been coming to Germany. Now Ukraine has throttled the transport of Russian gas via the pipelines through its country. At the same time, Russia is threatening a gas embargo if the EU countries do not pay for the deliveries in roubles. A corresponding supply stop…
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Insurers should no longer insure Russian tankers
With an oil embargo, the EU wants to stop its own oil imports from Russia so that Putin can no longer finance the war in Ukraine with the revenues. However, this measure is not nearly as effective as those responsible had imagined. Russia has already begun to sell its oil to Asia, as was quite…