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Europe’s Gigafactory in Douvrin: A milestone on the path to independence from Chinese battery manufacturers
The main building of the new battery cell production of the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) in Douvrin, a small town in the French department of Pas-de-Calais, is strikingly designed with a black-and-white pattern. Notable guests from the automotive and energy industries were present for the inauguration of the gigafactory on Tuesday. Among them were the…
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Property tax and heating turnaround: Loss of value due to Habeck’s policy – property owners in a quandary?
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck continues to adhere to his heating hammer policy despite criticism from the public. This has implications for the value of unrenovated buildings. This could now also have an impact on another important issue in the housing sector – the reform of property tax. For property owners, 2023 has not…
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Green light for the energy highway: first section of the Suedlink power line approved
The Suedlink power line, which is to transport electricity from northern Germany to the south over a distance of 700 kilometres, has been delayed for years. Now the construction of a first section has been approved. The grid operator Transnet BW can thus begin construction of the direct current route. The Federal Network Agency has…
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Heating Act 2.0: Government demands energy consumption data – controversy and criticism follow
According to a new draft of the planned heating law prepared by Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck together with Federal Minister of Construction Klara Geywitz, citizens are to provide precise information about their energy consumption and the insulation of their houses in the future. The state wants to know how citizens heat their houses,…
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Government calculates 88 billion euros of investment needed by the railways until 2027
The federal government expects the railways in Germany to need 88 billion euros in investment by 2027, according to a government response to a question from the Left Party budget expert Victor Perli, which was made public in Berlin on Sunday. The government did not comment on the question of how this was to be…
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German industry disagrees on measures to reduce energy costs: Habeck’s plan vs. DIHK electricity partnerships
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Green Party wants to help domestic industry by proposing a plan to reduce energy costs. Many companies are struggling due to the sharp rise in energy prices. According to Habeck’s plan, these companies should in future not have to pay more than six cents per kilowatt hour consumed…
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Gas crisis – now sales of electric fan heaters are booming
The rising price of gas and the fear that the gas supply could collapse is causing many people to look for an alternative heating option. Fireplaces and wood stoves are already almost sold out and there are long waiting times (Blackout News: 10.07.22). Now the sale of electric fan heaters, oil radiators and infrared heating…
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Gas crisis: Federal Network Agency warns
The head of the Federal Network Agency Klaus Müller warns of a serious bottleneck in gas supply in view of the already throttled gas deliveries from Russia and the upcoming maintenance of Nord Stream 1 from 11 July 2022: German gas storage facilities would be able to guarantee security of supply for a maximum of…
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Federal Network Agency: Warning against gas boiler failure
The impending gas supply stop from Russia could lead to a serious technical problem, which Klaus Müller, as President of the Federal Network Agency, warns of: If the gas pressure in the pipelines drops, the gas in Germany will be distributed unevenly to individual municipalities and regions. Due to a lack of pressure, several hundred…
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Supply crisis and price explosion: energy poverty has reached the middle class
Rising energy prices in Germany have so far hit the lower income groups hard. In the meantime, the middle class is also suffering. This means that Germany has the greatest energy poverty in post-war history. Share of energy costs in the household budget On average, the German household spends 10.2 % of its disposable income…
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The dispute over the Russian gas compressor
For weeks, less gas has been coming to Germany via the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 1. Politicians keep trying to portray this as an act of retaliation by Russia due to the European sanctions. However, as we already reported in our article “Why less gas is coming via Nord Stream 1” (Blackout-News 26.06.22), this…
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Energy policy: from one disaster to the next
Habeck’s energy policy is heading from one disaster to the next. The shutdown of nuclear and coal-fired power plants was supposed to be compensated by the construction of modern gas-fired power plants. Now gas is in short supply, not least because of the sanctions, and the gas-fired power plants have to be taken off the…
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The destruction of our prosperity
Inflation, energy shortages and the decline of the euro against the dollar are already having a massive impact on our prosperity. Due to the massive rate of price increases, larger households are already losing a quarter of their purchasing power. Companies are closing down or relocating their production abroad. The cause of this is the…
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The global energy transition remains an ideological illusion
The expansion of green energy plants lags far behind global growth. The share of renewable energy has been stagnating for more than 10 years. At the same time, the gap between aspiration and reality is widening. The global energy transition remains an ideological illusion. Expansion of green power plants cannot keep pace with global economic…
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Massive rush for fireplaces and wood stoves
With the start of the Ukraine war, the cost of gas and heating oil has risen sharply. This has now led to a real boom in demand for wood-burning stoves. Stove builders and installers can hardly save themselves from corresponding orders to install an additional heating option. In many places, wood-burning stoves are already sold…