G7 Summit Over, Germany Abandons Planned Coal Tax

[eagle1462010]

The German government appears to have abandoned the planned carbon tax on coal power plants. This is the result of a meeting of German Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) with the head of the mining union IG BCE, Michael Vassiliadis, and ministers of those states where lignite is produced.

The ministry’s original plan was to avoid emitting additional 22 million tons of CO2 by 2020. This plan was opposed by trade unions and energy companies who saw this as an existential threat to Germany’s entire lignite production. These interest groups seem to have won the battle for now.—Der Spiegel, 7 June 2015

If the government abandons its coal tax, it is not clear how the additional 22 million tons of CO2 can be saved so that for Germany’s CO2 target of 40 percent reduction by 2020 can be achieved.—Der Stern, 9 June 2015

Industrial group Siemens has resigned itself to never selling another gas turbine in its home country following Germany’s switch to renewable energy, its chief executive said. Joe Kaeser is cutting 1,600 jobs at Siemens’ power and gas division, which has been turned upside down by the fallout from Germany’s decision to accelerate its nuclear exit and promote renewable energy following Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster. “The way in which Germany’s energy transition is being handled has made it impossible for us to ever sell our fossil fuel-related products and solutions in Germany,” Kaeser said in an interview published in Siemens’ staff magazine on Thursday.—Reuters, 28 May 2015

Siemens employees turned out in large numbers in Germany Tuesday to rally against massive job cuts announced earlier by the engineering giant’s executive board. In Berlin alone, an estimated 1,500 workers took to the streets in fear of losing their jobs at one of Siemens’ gas turbine facilities. CEO Joe Kaeser pointed to the ongoing problems in the power generation sector as demand for gas turbines had decreased rapidly due to Germany’s shift to renewables.—Deutsche Welle, 9 June 2015

Whoever applies the axe here must know that with the loss of coal production the vertically integrated value chains of metalworking, electrical engineering and chemical industry will start to falter. Germany’s electricity costs for industry are already 26 percent higher than the EU average. Compared to the U.S., the difference is 150 percent now. The creeping process of de-industrialization has already begun. The winners of our job losses will be the USA and the Far East.—Fritz Vahrenholt, Manager Magazin, 5 June 2015

ConocoPhillips, the U.S. energy company, said on Friday it has stopped its shale gas exploration in Poland due to unsatisfactory results, leaving the rest of the field to Polish state-run firms. Earlier this year another U.S. energy major Chevron Corp gave up looking for shale gas in Poland, following the withdrawal of Exxon Mobil, Total and Marathon Oil over the past three years. While exploratory drilling has been done, Poland has not delivered a single commercial well. The only companies that declare further drilling are the state-run gas distributor PGNiG and the refiner PKN Orlen.—Reuters, 5 June 2015

This is the future liberals and global warmers want here in america...........Higher utility costs...........and loss of business and jobs.

 

[eagle1462010]

Germany's Energy Policy Is Failing the Poor, While Being a Poor Way to Help the Climate

The German government recently said that 6.9 million households live in energy poverty, defined as spending more than 10 per cent of their income on energy. This is partly a result of Germany's Energiewende, the country’s turn away from nuclear and towards renewable energies.

This year alone, German consumers are expected to subsidize green energy to the tune of a whopping €23.6 billion ($33 billion) on top of their normal electricity bills for the so-called “renewable energies reallocation charge.”

Since 2008, this charge has increasingly reallocated money from the poor to the rich, e.g. from poor tenants in the Ruhr area to wealthy homeowners in Bavaria who put solar panels on their roofs. The charge has skyrocketed from 1.15 ct/kWh in 2008 to 6.24 ct/kWh this year. Since then, another 1.4 million households slipped into energy poverty.

 

[eagle1462010]

I have been saying this for a long time......................That there are ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES for GOING GREEN.

The regular chants by the alarmists of THE SUN IS FREE, SAVE THE PLANET, and etc...............don't pay the bills and drive the prices through the roof................drive away jobs..........and hurt the POOR that they proclaim the CHAMPIONS OF............

I've never heard of ENERGY POVERTY BEFORE...............But given the SLOGANS of the day in America about how well our country is doing while forgetting the NUMBERS ON POVERTY HAVE GREATLY INCREASED.................................it seems the goal of the left is to cause poverty.................because that is the result of their policies.................

What's happening in Germany is what they want here.................and they must be stopped.

 

[eagle1462010]

High Costs and Errors of German Transition to Renewable Energy - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Trouble Paying the Bills

When Stefan Becker of the Berlin office of the Catholic charity Caritas makes a house call, he likes to bring along a few energy-saving bulbs. Many residents still use old light bulbs, which consume a lot of electricity but are cheaper than newer bulbs. "People here have to decide between spending money on an expensive energy-saving bulb or a hot meal," says Becker. In other words, saving energy is well and good -- but only if people can afford it.

A family Becker recently visited is a case in point. They live in a dark, ground-floor apartment in Berlin's Neukölln neighborhood. On a sunny summer day, the two children inside had to keep the lights on -- which drives up the electricity bill, even if the family is using energy-saving bulbs.

Becker wants to prevent his clients from having their electricity shut off for not paying their bill. After sending out a few warning notices, the power company typically sends someone to the apartment to shut off the power -- leaving the customers with no functioning refrigerator, stove or bathroom fan. Unless they happen to have a camping stove, they can't even boil water for a cup of tea. It's like living in the Stone Age.

Once the power has been shut off, it's difficult to have it switched on again. Customers have to negotiate a payment plan, and are also charged a reconnection fee of up to €100. "When people get their late payment notices in the spring, our phones start ringing," says Becker.



In the near future, an average three-person household will spend about €90 a month for electricity. That's about twice as much as in 2000.
Two-thirds of the price increase is due to new government fees, surcharges and taxes. But despite those price hikes, government pensions and social welfare payments have not been adjusted. As a result, every new fee becomes a threat to low-income consumers.

Consumer advocates and aid organizations say the breaking point has already been reached. Today, more than 300,000 households a year are seeing their power shut off because of unpaid bills. Caritas and other charity groups call it "energy poverty."

 

[eagle1462010]

EU Fuel Poverty Network

hat is fuel poverty?

Fuel poverty, or energy poverty as it is also known as, occurs when a household is unable to afford the most basic levels of energy for adequate heating, cooking, lighting and use of appliances in the home.

The consequences of fuel poverty include a restricted use of heating, cold and damp homes, debts on utility bills and a reduction of household expenditure on other essential items. In addition, fuel poverty is associated with a wide range of physical and mental health illnesses, such as depression, asthma and heart disease.

Fuel poverty has traditionally been thought of as a British and Irish phenomenon; however, as the maps below show, aspects of fuel poverty are manifest across the European Union.

 

[Bleipriester]

That´s the shit we face:
At first, the social-green government cuts trade tax. After that, the "market-liberal" government abandons nuclear energy

 

[kiwiman127]

Eagle, good effort! Mucho thanks.
I think Germany wanted to go Green too fast.
It's has to been done slowly. And to think Merkel is a conservative!
I obviously am a believer in Green Energy. Do I think we should abandon all fossil fuels as quickly as possible? Nope. I think the best and most financially sufficient approach is a gradual approach with the goal of having diverse energy resources. Now Green Energy costs in particular solar are decreasing, due to the ever increasing usage. Of course we have had hydro for centuries. Wind Power has been around a long time but really not developed effectually for mass usage.
I think to rail against Green Power is as short-sighted as railing against fossil fuel power. I'm not a global warmer but then I'm not a denier either. There's so much money pouring into that debate from special and financial interests, it's really hard to determine, what are the true facts. And to top things off, it's become an ideological debate, so that even lessens the chance of an honest debate.
However, I do have serious concerns about pollution and it's effect on humans and our food and water supplies. My daughter is an executive in a huge respiratory health company. They cannot hire enough respiratory therapist due to the high increase of respiratory diseases. Now that should tell us something, right?
Secondly, having a diverse portfolio of energy solutions is very, very good for our country's energy security. In today's world, not being reliant on just a few energy resources is smart.
Again, thanks for the well thought-out thread.