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Time for another round of quantitative easing, easy money, the whole government bonds -> central banks -> private banks routine, perhaps? The banks can then ex

Time for another round of quantitative easing, easy money, the whole government bonds -> central banks -> private banks routine, perhaps? The banks can then extend loans to power users at low rates, so they can pay the higher energy fees? Of course that's nonsense, but that's been the response of central banks to crises over the past decade (see Nomi Prins, Collusion). The problem is that there isn't enough physical gas to go around, and conjuring money out of a hat won't fix that problem. The most obvious solution to Europe's energy woes is to build out energy systems that don't rely on any imports (uranium ore from Niger to feed French nuclear reactors is as much of a long-term supply problem as gas and oil from Russia or LNG tankers from the USA). That means solar/wind/storage has to become the dominant energy system, and that's the general trend: https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/focus-renewable-energy-europe-2020-mar-18_en https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/focus-renewable-energy-europe... > "Solar panels and wind turbines are now a common sight across the EU, which in large part is due to increased market activity. The cost of solar power production has for instance decreased by 75% between 2009 and 2018, and in 2014, onshore wind became cheaper than coal, gas and nuclear. In 2019, EU power production from wind and solar power overtook coal for the first time – meaning that they have become as competitive, or even cheaper, than fossil fuels in most places." Note that central banks could put their efforts towards renewable investment instead of private banking deals, which would speed this transition up...

bhawks 4y ago
> That means solar/wind/storage has to become the dominant energy system, and that's the general trend: Solar and batteries require mining rare earth elements which also present similar supply chain and ecological concerns. Without storage wind and solar simply cannot meet reliability and demand expectations. The problem has many more complicating factors then most people are willing to discuss.
- photochemsyn 4y ago
  Monocrystalline silicon panels (by far the best option on the market today) do not require rare earth elements (the lanthanides), period. Iron-phosphate-lithium batteries do not require them, and nor do wind turbines. There are also a variety of utility-scale storage solutions, none of which require rare earth elements. For more accurate information on renewables, I'd recommend: https://www.studyallenergy.com/ https://www.studyallenergy.com/
TMWNN 4y ago
>Time for another round of quantitative easing, easy money, the whole government bonds -> central banks -> private banks routine, perhaps? The banks can then extend loans to power users at low rates, so they can pay the higher energy fees? >Of course that's nonsense Setting aside the inflationary and other side effects of doing so, this is not a case of "government can cap the bills" or "government can provide subsidies to help pay for higher bills" or, even, "government can ration electricity". *SUBSIDIES DON'T MATTER IF THERE IS NO SUPPLY*. So many people in /r/europe (and their sycophants elsewhere) are in denial. Check out this /r/ireland thread. <https://np.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/x1mbq9/small_businesses_will_begoing_to_the_wall_with/ https://np.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/x1mbq9/small_busine...> Normally this sort of post—image with accompanying story of person/small business required to pay huge costs to giant company—is the closest thing to karma bait. There would be an endless stream of replies blaming big business/greedy companies/capitalism/etc., etc. But not this time. Yes, there are some such comments, but also a striking number coming up with all sorts of "explanations" (all wrong, as far as I can tell) for why the bill is actually the restaurant's fault. Why they are in so much denial, I don't know. Do they really think that if they don't acknowledge that energy bills across Ireland, the UK, and the continent are skyrocketing, maybe it will all go away? Or do they (given the Ukraine flag in the posted tweet's profile) think that if they publicly acknowledge that it's happening, doing so will contribute to Putin's victory and Ukraine's defeat?

bhawks 4y ago

> That means solar/wind/storage has to become the dominant energy system, and that's the general trend: Solar and batteries require mining rare earth elements which also present similar supply chain and ecological concerns. Without storage wind and solar simply cannot meet reliability and demand expectations. The problem has many more complicating factors then most people are willing to discuss.

photochemsyn 4y ago
Monocrystalline silicon panels (by far the best option on the market today) do not require rare earth elements (the lanthanides), period. Iron-phosphate-lithium batteries do not require them, and nor do wind turbines. There are also a variety of utility-scale storage solutions, none of which require rare earth elements. For more accurate information on renewables, I'd recommend: https://www.studyallenergy.com/ https://www.studyallenergy.com/

TMWNN 4y ago

>Time for another round of quantitative easing, easy money, the whole government bonds -> central banks -> private banks routine, perhaps? The banks can then extend loans to power users at low rates, so they can pay the higher energy fees? >Of course that's nonsense Setting aside the inflationary and other side effects of doing so, this is not a case of "government can cap the bills" or "government can provide subsidies to help pay for higher bills" or, even, "government can ration electricity". *SUBSIDIES DON'T MATTER IF THERE IS NO SUPPLY*. So many people in /r/europe (and their sycophants elsewhere) are in denial. Check out this /r/ireland thread. <https://np.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/x1mbq9/small_businesses_will_begoing_to_the_wall_with/ https://np.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/x1mbq9/small_busine...> Normally this sort of post—image with accompanying story of person/small business required to pay huge costs to giant company—is the closest thing to karma bait. There would be an endless stream of replies blaming big business/greedy companies/capitalism/etc., etc. But not this time. Yes, there are some such comments, but also a striking number coming up with all sorts of "explanations" (all wrong, as far as I can tell) for why the bill is actually the restaurant's fault. Why they are in so much denial, I don't know. Do they really think that if they don't acknowledge that energy bills across Ireland, the UK, and the continent are skyrocketing, maybe it will all go away? Or do they (given the Ukraine flag in the posted tweet's profile) think that if they publicly acknowledge that it's happening, doing so will contribute to Putin's victory and Ukraine's defeat?