-
Jänschwalde power plant may continue to operate for the time being
The administrative court in Cottbus has decided, following a complaint by the German Environmental Aid, that the Jänschwalde opencast mine will only receive an operating permit until 14 May this year. The Jänschwalde power plant is the third largest power plant in Germany. The power plant is fired with lignite from the Jänschwalde opencast mine.…
-
The beginnings of the electrification of Germany
In our article “Who invented electricity?” we reported on the history from the discovery to the practical use of electricity. With this article, we want to briefly look at when the electrification of Germany began. Electric lighting makes its way into the cities As already reported in the first article, Werner von Siemens practically invented…
-
Leaked EU document on gas supply
Russia has already suspended gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria because they refused to pay roubles. The same threatens all European countries. The EU is therefore asking countries to share gas if Russia stops supplying it. The Spanish newspaper El País has now published the contents of a leaked document. EU wants to shut down…
-
Despite oil embargo – Russia exports more oil than before the war
What we initially only suspected in our recent article “How effective is an oil embargo?” has now demonstrably come true based on new figures. In the second month of the war against Ukraine, Russia exported more oil than a year before, despite the oil embargo. And this despite the fact that several countries are already…
-
Germany has highest fuel price increase in Europe
In response to a question from the Left Party in the Bundestag, the Federal Statistical Office has released data on the price increase for fuel. This shows that Germany has recorded the highest price increase since the beginning of the Ukraine war. In no other country of the European Union has the price, especially for…
-
Energy transition: North Sea island Pellworm shows the problems in miniature
The North Sea island of Pellworm is a prime example of the energy transition. It shows on a small scale that the energy transition cannot work as planned, even on a large scale. On Pellworm, there are or were wind turbines in the hands of citizens, solar parks, storage batteries and biogas plants – everything…
-
Battery storage explodes – residential house destroyed
For the second time in recent months, there has been a fire in a solar storage battery with considerable damage. As we already reported in our article “Apartment building uninhabitable after solar storage battery fire“, a battery storage unit burned in Bondegg, Baden-Württemberg, at the beginning of March. The apartment building was subsequently uninhabitable. Now…
-
Gas-fired power plants: hurdles in converting to hydrogen
All existing gas-fired power plants must be converted to hydrogen in the coming years. At the same time, the federal government is planning to build new gas-fired power plants in order to meet the goals of the energy transition. But the technology is far from ready for this step. The switch from natural gas to…
-
Natural gas production in the North Sea: opportunities and limits
Natural gas production in the North Sea must be stepped up. In the meantime, the German and Dutch gas storage facilities are threateningly empty. One expert demand is therefore: the existing gas fields must be used even more. This applies, among other things, to the area around the Dutch city of Groningen. This is where…
-
Nuclear power plants in France: Problems with downtime
On the surface, France is better prepared for failures of fossil energy imports than almost all other countries: the country has traditionally relied on nuclear power. The 18 nuclear power plants in France could actually supply the electricity needed reliably and independently, but only in theory. In practice, a large part of France’s nuclear power…
-
Opel boss – small electric cars unsaleable without subsidy
The Opel boss already made critical comments about electric cars a few weeks ago. Now he is going one better. Opel boss Uwe Hochgeschurtz no longer sees any market opportunity for small electric cars in the event that state subsidies are phased out. Economics Minister Habeck has already reduced the electric car purchase premium from…
-
EU targets for reducing Russian gas supplies not achievable
The EU plans to reduce Russian gas supplies by two thirds by the end of the year. At the same time, the EU is requiring its member states by law to fill their gas storage facilities to at least 80 percent by November. Calculations by the Jülich Research Centre now show that it will not…
-
How effective is an oil embargo?
The EU Commission wants to impose an oil embargo on Russia. A corresponding oil embargo could take effect as early as the turn of the year. In this way, the EU Commission wants to prevent Russia from continuing to collect money to finance the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the EU wants to…
-
Who invented electricity?
In our modern society, almost nothing works without electricity. Electricity is needed for practically all areas of life. Without electricity, our modern society would come to a standstill. The use of electricity is omnipresent. With the article “Who invented electricity?” we want to start a small series in which we give an overview of the…
-
Habeck predicts permanently high energy prices
Economics Minister Robert Habeck sees it as a bitter and hard truth that consumers will have to pay more for fuel, electricity and heating in the future. The Minister of Economics predicts permanently high energy prices for consumers. With the high energy prices, of course, the prices for all products and services also rise and…