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Because they are morons and shut down their nuclear plants and bet everything on Russian gas and renewables that aren't even designed to provide baseload. They

by q1w2 4y ago

Because they are morons and shut down their nuclear plants and bet everything on Russian gas and renewables that aren't even designed to provide baseload. They absolutely should have seen this coming.

sorenjan 4y ago
Might be true for Germany, but other countries are also dependent on natural gas. In 2018 natural gas accounted for 45% of Italy's electricity production [0], in 2021 28% of Hungary's electricity came from gas [1]. And that's just electricity, 63% [2] of Europeans energy consumption is used for heating, I would guess a large part of that is gas as well. This is bigger than Germany closing some nuclear plants, although that obviously isn't helping. Despite knowing that natural gas is a fossil fuel that we need to stop using the cost of using it hasn't been high enough to dissuade using it. This sudden increase in cost and the crisis it has and will cause really shows that economy is the only thing that matters, people will continue burning whatever they can get as long as it's cheap, since the external cost of global warming isn't properly included in the price. Neither was security risks, and we're all paying for that now. [0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/873552/energy-mix-in-italy/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/873552/energy-mix-in-ita... [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1235432/hungary-distribution-of-electricity-production-by-source/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1235432/hungary-distribu... [2] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Energy_consumption_in_households https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...
adrianN 4y ago
If Germany kept its nuclear plants it would still be almost as dependent on Russian gas as it is today. Homes aren't heated with nuclear power, they're heated with gas. Industrial processes don't run on nuclear power either, they run on gas. Germany doesn't produce a lot of its electricity with gas turbines.
- tomputer 4y ago
  > Homes aren't heated with nuclear power, they're heated with gas. Industrial processes don't run on nuclear power either, they run on gas. I'm glad that there are still people who understand this. In the Netherlands 90% of the homes[1] still run on natural gas and that's not something we can "simply" replace. It is possible and will eventually happen but it will take years if not decades. And that's just homes in the Netherlands. Take a look at the global energy mix[2] how much the world still depends on gas. [1] https://www-cbs-nl.translate.goog/nl-nl/nieuws/2021/07/92-procent-woningen-op-aardgas-begin-2019?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp https://www-cbs-nl.translate.goog/nl-nl/nieuws/2021/07/92-pr... [2] https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix
  - sorenjan 4y ago
    The switch should have started years or decades ago. If 90% finds it economically beneficial to keep using fossil fuels for heat the economic incentives are faulty and needs to be updated to move to other alternatives. Heat pumps, bio fuel, waste heat from industry, there are probably plenty of other sources. And of course, energy management, with well insulated houses.

by q1w2 4y ago

sorenjan 4y ago

Might be true for Germany, but other countries are also dependent on natural gas. In 2018 natural gas accounted for 45% of Italy's electricity production [0], in 2021 28% of Hungary's electricity came from gas [1]. And that's just electricity, 63% [2] of Europeans energy consumption is used for heating, I would guess a large part of that is gas as well. This is bigger than Germany closing some nuclear plants, although that obviously isn't helping. Despite knowing that natural gas is a fossil fuel that we need to stop using the cost of using it hasn't been high enough to dissuade using it. This sudden increase in cost and the crisis it has and will cause really shows that economy is the only thing that matters, people will continue burning whatever they can get as long as it's cheap, since the external cost of global warming isn't properly included in the price. Neither was security risks, and we're all paying for that now. [0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/873552/energy-mix-in-italy/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/873552/energy-mix-in-ita... [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1235432/hungary-distribution-of-electricity-production-by-source/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1235432/hungary-distribu... [2] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Energy_consumption_in_households https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...

adrianN 4y ago

If Germany kept its nuclear plants it would still be almost as dependent on Russian gas as it is today. Homes aren't heated with nuclear power, they're heated with gas. Industrial processes don't run on nuclear power either, they run on gas. Germany doesn't produce a lot of its electricity with gas turbines.

tomputer 4y ago
> Homes aren't heated with nuclear power, they're heated with gas. Industrial processes don't run on nuclear power either, they run on gas. I'm glad that there are still people who understand this. In the Netherlands 90% of the homes[1] still run on natural gas and that's not something we can "simply" replace. It is possible and will eventually happen but it will take years if not decades. And that's just homes in the Netherlands. Take a look at the global energy mix[2] how much the world still depends on gas. [1] https://www-cbs-nl.translate.goog/nl-nl/nieuws/2021/07/92-procent-woningen-op-aardgas-begin-2019?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp https://www-cbs-nl.translate.goog/nl-nl/nieuws/2021/07/92-pr... [2] https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix
- sorenjan 4y ago
  The switch should have started years or decades ago. If 90% finds it economically beneficial to keep using fossil fuels for heat the economic incentives are faulty and needs to be updated to move to other alternatives. Heat pumps, bio fuel, waste heat from industry, there are probably plenty of other sources. And of course, energy management, with well insulated houses.