Tag: heating systems

Economic Suicide:Germany passes controversial green heating law estimated to cost economy €1 trillion

The problem is that approximately three-quarters of the old buildings in Germany were built before the first thermal insulation regulations came into force in 1979. Many of these buildings will now need to be made energy efficient, representing an enormous cost burden at a time when Germany has also phased out nuclear power and the price of energy, particularly oil and natural gas, has soared.

From  JUNGE FREIHEIT

By REMIX

A law would require newly installed heating systems to be powered by at least 65 percent renewable energy

After six months of fierce debate, Germany’s left-wing government has passed the country’s controversial green heating law, the Building Energy Act (GEG), with high estimates indicating the law will cost Germany’s economy over €1 trillion over the next 20 years.

While politicians belonging to Germany’s three-way politician applauded the heating law coming into force on Friday last week, the political fallout has likely yet to be fully realized.

Many Germans — already struggling with inflation and a slowing economy — balked at the mandate to install new expensive heating systems, with the law being rejected by the majority of the populace, according to polling. The government is also being accused of a hasty legislative process and a lack of parliamentary hearings, calling into question the democratic basis for the law in its entirety.

The law mandates that Germans with older heating systems replace them within a certain time period, although the final bill passed watered down some requirements and carved out some exceptions. Nevertheless, the final cost of the bill is still expected to be enormous, with high estimates placing it at €1 trillion and lower estimates hovering at €600 billion.

Many Germans have all of their savings in their home, and for many seniors, their homes, often featuring older heating systems, have seen their value take a hit due to the law. At the same time, in the coming years, they will be forced to make costly heating upgrades — usually in the form of a heat pump and the associated costs of making it work efficiently inside a building — to meet new green standards. Experts are also warning that landlords will have an incentive to increase rents in response to the Building Energy Act.

The problem is that approximately three-quarters of the old buildings in Germany were built before the first thermal insulation regulations came into force in 1979. Many of these buildings will now need to be made energy efficient, representing an enormous cost burden at a time when Germany has also phased out nuclear power and the price of energy, particularly oil and natural gas, has soared.

The Free Democrats (FDP), usually seen as a pro-business party, first fought their coalition partners on the proposed law, but in the end, the liberal party helped pass the law on Friday. There are already signs the FDP is paying the price for its decision, with the latest YouGov poll putting the party at just 5 percent, which is the threshold for entering the German parliament.

“There is fear among the population,” shouted Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) in parliament. He said it is “the height of disrespect” for the citizens to pass the law and that the CSU would work to abolish it.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD), which saw its polling numbers soar around the same time the heating debate raged, has also said it will abolish the law should it come to power, saying it is an arduous tax on German businesses, pensioners, and those who invested in a home or apartment.

“The AfD faction strictly rejects Habeck’s (…) heating hammer. Despite severe criticism, the law was neither postponed nor defused,” said Marc Bernhard, a parliamentary spokesperson for the AfD. “The tricky thing about the law, however, is that the heating has to be torn out again if it does not meet the municipalities’ heat planning required by 2028. In this way, the government is hiding the devastating consequences for millions of people and is transferring the risk of the heat transition to the citizens.”

He further pointed out that the nuclear power plants would save twice as much CO2 if they were allowed to continue to operate.

As Remix News reported last year, the proportion of poor people in Germany reached a new high, according to the Federal Statistical Office, with the data highlighting a sea change in the German economy. The report also only covered data up until the end of 2021 before the dramatic increase in food and energy prices in 2022.

Read full story here…

Masses Fightback: Germans Mobilize Against €Trillion Wind & Solar ‘Transition’ Disaster

You can fool some of the people, some of the time. But Germany’s wind and sun cult are struggling to fool all of the people, for all time.

From STOP THESE THINGS

You can fool some of the people, some of the time. But Germany’s wind and sun cult are struggling to fool all of the people, for all time.

Slowly but surely, the average German is working out that they have been played for fools. As Charles MacKay observed: “Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one.” And so it goes in Germany.

The economic and social costs of Germany’s grand wind and solar transition – aka the ‘Energiewende’ – have already taken their toll, with much worse to come. As Charles Rotter details in the first piece below.

However, in the second, Pierre Gosselin reports on the growing tide of anger and resentment being displayed by ordinary Germans who recognise that they’ve been taken for a ride.

Remarkably this mass movement is being led by a German noble, Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, once dubbed the ‘Punk Princess’ but who, now, is calling the grand green transition for what it is: an expensive failure.

Germany’s Costly Energy Conundrum: Poor Planning and Bad Choices, 1 Trillion Dollars Needed
Watts Up With That?
Charles Rotter
14 June 2023

Germany finds itself facing an astronomical challenge of plugging a massive power gap, one according to BloombergNEF that could cost the country over $1 trillion by 2030 . The urgency to address this energy crisis stems from a combination of factors, including the aftermath of the war in Ukraine and the dubious choice to transition away from nuclear and coal power plants. However, the predicament Germany now faces is largely a consequence of poor planning and inadequate foresight in the energy sector. As the nation scrambles to find solutions, it becomes evident that crucial opportunities were missed, poor decisions were made, and the costs of this oversight are now mounting.

Underestimating the Scope of the Challenge
One of the fundamental failures in Germany’s planning was underestimating the scale of the energy transition required. The political decision to phase out nuclear and coal power plants, coupled with increased demand from electric vehicles, heating systems, and economically suicidal climate commitments, has created an overwhelming demand for new generation and upgraded power grids. The sheer magnitude of the undertaking, requiring the installation of solar panels equivalent to 43 soccer fields and 1,600 heat pumps daily, indicates a severe lack of anticipation and preparedness.

Germany has set aside more than €260 billion ($275 billion) to deal with the immediate risks of an energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine, but the ultimate fix will be much costlier — if the country can pull it off at all.

https://www.tbsnews.net/bloomberg-special/germany-faces-1-trillion-challenge-plug-massive-power-gap-590590

BASF SE‘s plans to cut 2,600 jobs as it faces strains from the energy crisis is a sign of the urgency. The chemical giant’s operations in Germany swung to a loss during the second half, and it’s now closing a number of energy-intensive factories, including two ammonia plants and related fertilizer facilities, resulting in 700 job cuts at its main Ludwigshafen site.

https://www.tbsnews.net/bloomberg-special/germany-faces-1-trillion-challenge-plug-massive-power-gap-590590

Lack of Clarity in Replacing Energy Sources
Germany’s dilemma is exacerbated by its unclear path for replacing phased-out energy sources. With nuclear and coal off the table, the country is heavily reliant on importing liquefied natural gas, which comes at a higher cost. The transition to electric cars, heat pumps, and hydrogen production further adds to the energy demand. Yet, there is a lack of concrete plans for generating electricity during periods of low renewable production. The reliance on future gas plants running on hydrogen faces significant hurdles, including a lack of willing investors, the reliance on nonexistent and potentially never existent technology, and the high costs involved, if those problems were to ever be solved.

Insufficient Investment and Unclear Regulations
The lack of funding and investment in the energy sector can be attributed to high market uncertainty and unclear regulations and, of course, the dubious prospects of profitability of intermittent wind and solar without major subsidies. These issues hamper the development of necessary infrastructure. Investors remain hesitant to commit to costly projects, leaving Germany in a state of flux. The need for clear regulations and financial incentives is essential to attract private sector participation at all.

Conclusion
Germany’s $1 trillion energy challenge serves as a stark reminder of the consequences that poor planning can have on a nation’s energy future. The failure to accurately anticipate the scope of the transition and the absence of a clear path to replace phased-out energy sources have created a significant hurdle. Addressing this crisis requires a comprehensive reassessment of energy policies, including rethinking some of the politically motivated retirement of nuclear power, enhanced investment in research and development, and the establishment of clear regulations and financial incentives. Germany must learn from its past oversights and rectify them swiftly to ensure a resilient energy future for the country. Time is of the essence.
Watts Up With That?

Ulrike von Waitz, Mitglied der Gruppe Mothers for Nuclear vor dem Gelaende des ehemaligen Versuchsatomkraftwerk Kahl

German Princess Gloria On Green New Deal: “Going To Be Worse Than Communist East Germany”!
No Tricks Zone
Pierre Gosselin
18 June 2023

Normally I don’t put much stock in European royalty and what they have to say. But when it comes to Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis of Germany, she has the unique ability to say what millions of people are thinking.

Germans rising up, turning out in masses to protest government’s outrageous energy proposals and policies

Recently she was interviewed as a guest on Youtube channel “Achtung, Reichelt!” where she spoke about the demonstration that had taken place in Erding last weekend (see image above). An estimated 13,000  people protested to protest the government’s heat pump madness. Normally when it comes to climate, getting even a hundred people to show up to protest against government policies would be quite a feat. But now as the economic pain sets in, there are real signs that the masses are finally beginning to wake up.

Princess Gloria told Achtung Reichelt: “Berlin is making policies against us citizens. But politicians are there for the people, not the other way around. Her verdict: “The transition to green energies has failed, failed, failed!”

Germans realizing they’ve been taken for a ride
When asked why the people are just now turning out to demonstrate, Gloria von Thurn und Taxis says they are being driven firstly by the fact that “everything has gotten more expensive” and that the people have realized they “have been taken for a ride.”

“Worse than communist East Germany”
“But climate change is a huge swindle. It’s a method of extracting money out of the people’s pockets, and they are supposed to feel good about it. The feeling good now ends at the end of the month when they see there’s no longer any buying power, when the restaurants close, when the airline trips can no longer be booked,” says Princess Gloria. “And what’s good is that the Greens have come out and been very open about this agenda: We may no longer travel, we should eat only certain things, we may not heat. It’s going to be worse than [communist] East Germany.”

“Before this is really put into place, we the people have the chance to rise up and to protest together, and foremost – very important – to go out and vote,” she adds.
No Tricks Zone

Irony: German Bundestag Admits Conversion To Heat Pump Systems For Its Own Buildings Not Possible!

Yet, expects its own citizens to convert their homes beginning next year!

From NoTricksZone

By P Gosselin on 28. April 2023

Yet, expects its own citizens to convert their homes beginning next year!

Critical website Pleiteticker.de here reports on how the buildings of the Bundestag (Federal Parliament) will not be able to convert over to heat pumps without comprehensive renovations that would run well into the millions.

Currently the Bundestag is predominantly heated with oil and gas or bio-diesel, According to an answer by the Bundestag administration to a question by FDP member of parliament Torsten Herbst: In 2022, almost 2.7 million liters of biodiesel were consumed, as well as about 1.1 million cubic meters of natural gas,” it says.

While the government demands citizens switch, Bundestag is unable to!

Recall how the government plans to force Germans to ditch their gas and oil heating systems and to install a heat pump in their place, beginning already next year – a costly endeavor. The irony here, however, is that it has been revealed that for the Bundestag, the very heart of the German legislature, “a conversion to electric heating systems is currently not possible,” reports Pleiteticker. “The heating systems of the German Bundestag are not suitable for the heat pump systems available today due to the required inflow temperatures of up to 110 °C.”

Out of touch

Currently the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR) is looking into the structural and technical possibilities for reducing energy consumption by the existing Bundestag buildings and developing “climate-neutral energy concept in the long term”. Yet, somehow the government expects private citizens to accomplish the feat already next year!

Pleiteticker sums up: “At the same time, the Bundestag obliges the installation of a new heating system from 2024 onwards to be powered by at least 65 percent renewable energies. This will make the installation of a heat pump the only option for many. However, the Bundestag cannot itself easily equip its own buildings with them…”

But rest assured, the government will find a way to make its buildings climate-neutral, costs be damned. The taxpayers will simply be forced to pick up the tab – no matter how large it will be.

Just like that: the Bundestag is currently heating with (bio) oil and gas. According to the Bundestag administration, this cannot be changed so easily. The heating systems are “not suitable for the heat pump systems available today (…).”