-
Energy transition into a dead end – hydrogen
As already described in the article “Energiewende in eine Sackgasse -Stromspeicher” (Energy transition into a dead end – electricity storage), our politicians are relying on hydrogen for the energy transition on a grand scale. They want to use hydrogen not only to produce electricity, but also to run blast furnaces in the steel industry and…
-
Ex-chief of the Nuclear Regulation Authority: Japan must restart nuclear power plants
Lawmakers in Japan call for faster restart of nuclear plants amid energy crisis. Japan’s government must do more to win public support for restarting nuclear power plants. The energy crisis is putting nuclear power in the spotlight, says the industry’s former top regulator. “The government must face the people and have a proper discussion.” Shunichi…
-
EU decision: End of the combustion engine by 2035
The EU directive on CO₂ limits stipulates that no new cars and vans with combustion engines may be registered in the European Union from 2035. If this directive remains unchanged, this could have far-reaching consequences: A boomerang for climate protection may be looming. No compromises with the combustion engine In the second week of June…
-
Japan: Residents should save electricity to prevent blackouts
Japan is stepping up its appeal to citizens and businesses to save electricity. The country is facing an energy supply shortage and escalating fuel import costs this summer. In addition, the yen has fallen sharply. The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida convened a national meeting to discuss the outlook for electricity supply. The government…
-
Habeck’s plans for the energy transition: Wind turbines on every doorstep?
The expansion of wind power is not progressing. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Bündnis 90/Grüne) has now presented a plan to accelerate the expansion of wind power. Among other things, the distance rules to residential areas are to be abolished if necessary. Does Habeck now want wind turbines on every doorstep? Conservationists fear great legal…
-
Energy agency warns of fuel shortage
Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, warns: Europe could run out of fuel this summer with the start of the holiday season. The energy expert sees the current energy crisis as much greater than in the two oil crises of 1973 and 1979/80, which is why he is calling on European countries to…
-
Energy transition into a dead end – electricity storage systems
In his programme for the decarbonisation of Germany, Economics Minister Habeck relies on the rapid expansion of solar and wind power plants. However, since these only produce electricity when weather conditions permit, electricity storage facilities are to temporarily store surplus electricity and release it back into the grid when demand increases. Our guest author Hans…
-
The liberalisation of the electricity market
With the nuclear power plants, a monopoly of a few large electricity suppliers soon formed. The local energy suppliers were responsible for the entire process, from the generation of electricity, the distribution via their own distribution network to the billing of consumption with their customers. In this process, they had the local monopoly from power…
-
Lindner wants to discuss the use of nuclear power
At the end of the year, the last three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany will finally be taken off the grid. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner now wants to discuss their continued use of nuclear power. This will add a lot of fuel to the fire in the new government with traffic lights. A…
-
Too few investors for new wind turbines
With his Easter package, Robert Habeck wants to drastically accelerate the expansion of renewable energies. In particular, he wants to greatly accelerate the expansion of wind power plants. However, too few applications were received in response to the tenders of the Federal Network Agency in May, so that the line in the sum of all…
-
Energy transition into a dead end – solar installations
Habeck’s Easter package provides for the massive expansion of solar installations. In the process, the traffic light government wants to introduce a solar roof obligation for buildings that are not used for residential purposes by 2023. In Baden-Württemberg, there is a solar roof obligation also for residential buildings, the construction of which will take place…
-
Government prepares legislation for gas shortage
The gas supply in Germany is highly uncertain due to the Ukraine war and the associated sanctions against Russia. Economics Minister Habeck is trying to prepare the country for a possible gas shortage by quickly changing existing laws. In the process, gas consumption in the event of a gas shortage is initially to be reduced…
-
Power supply in Switzerland critical
The electricity supply in Switzerland will already be critical in the coming winter. This is the result of a study commissioned by the Swiss Confederation. Depending on the scenario assessed, there could be widespread power cuts lasting from 48 hours to 10 days. Until now, the responsible electricity regulator Elcom has only expected bottlenecks in…
-
Heating costs: Habeck expects dramatic increase
Due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck expects a dramatic increase in heating costs in autumn. Meanwhile, he fears that the debate about this could endanger social peace in Germany. Habeck fears for social peace On the ZDF programme Maybritt Illner, Habeck said: “We will see a…
-
Biden declares emergency on power supply
On 6 June, the White House in Washington released US President Biden’s emergency executive order on electricity generation capacity. The President of the United States Joseph R.Biden Jr. is using the executive order to declare an emergency with respect to the threat to the availability of sufficient electricity generation capacity to meet anticipated customer demand.…