41–50 of 82 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in region 4, normally we have around 1600KwH in the worst winter month (small house, 2 air pumps). If prices rise 5x as is expected, we're looking at ~8000€ for a single month. (1€/KwH x 5)
Perhaps a dumb question, but do many houses have chimneys? Would burning wood ameliorate the problem?
It's easy to pivot to "the aftermath of war", but plenty, PLENTY of people and organizations pointed out that reliance on imported energy, especially from Russia, was not a great idea.
It’s also that these interdependencies guarantee peace to some extent. The current dynamic is the most dangerous since WWII, much more complex than the Cold War actually.
You perhaps could generate some hypothetical interdependencies that would preclude war, but it may also argue for all-out "seize the other country" war, too.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the UK, we had a 57% increase in energy bills from July, and we're now looking at another 80% increase from October which is terrifying for a lot of us.
In the UK we have standing charges on meters. These are fixed charges regardless of how much energy you use. You pay extra on top for your energy. I use very, very little gas. Currently my standing charge is about 4 times the cost of the (tiny amount of) gas I use, at least. To avoid the gas standing charge I'd have to remove the meter, physically. Not my property, can't do it. So I have to pay. Funny system.
If you are renting, you are perfectly entitled to change energy suppliers and/or have meters removed or upgraded. Your landlord has no say in it. (For one thing, the meter belongs to the energy company!).
The only exception to this is if you are renting a room in a HMO that uses a common energy supply for all rooms, or if you landlord pays your energy bills.
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_rentin...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in region 4, normally we have around 1600KwH in the worst winter month (small house, 2 air pumps). If prices rise 5x as is expected, we're looking at ~8000€ for a single month. (1€/KwH x 5)
You pay €1600/mo normally?! Holy crap!
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...
> "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...
Even so, our power prices are through the roof because the price is set by the high export prices. We're paying approximately 5X-10X what we're used to because of the extremely poor energy policies in other countries. Nevermind being dependent on Russia, which has been a terror state killing politicians and journalists for decades, they should have invested heavily in energy efficiency and switching from fossil fuels years ago. Now we're paying the price for their idiocy.
Not that our government is perfect either, they've given large US companies like Microsoft and Amazon tax cuts on power to get them to build datacenters.
It's easy to pivot to "the aftermath of war", but plenty, PLENTY of people and organizations pointed out that reliance on imported energy, especially from Russia, was not a great idea.
I actually went back and looked at US Presidents warning Europe about this. Trump famously did and the Germans laughed at him for it. Obama and Biden (both as VP and now as President) did. Even as far back as George Bush: he warned them, although it was presented more as a trade matter since it would have been beneficial for the energy industry and this was pre-fracking revolution. It has been a choir of warnings for…
And for Europe, it's not simply hubris though. There's multiple things at work. When the United States or Canada says to Europe: Don't buy energy from Russia, what Europeans legitimately heard was: Buy energy (at more cost and logistical challenge) from us instead.
Meanwhile Canada especially -- but likely the US as well -- was very much focused on building infrastructure for trade with the Pacific Rim, not Europe. So what other choice did Europe realistically have anyways?
I'm mad at hell at successive Canadian governments (what I'm most familiar with) who prioritized trade with China (or bulk exports to the US without value add). At the expense of the domestic market/infrastructure, at the expense of developing renewables, and at the expense of our European allies. Insanely short term thinking. An LNG facility on the St Lawrence would be real nice right now. Instead a massive LNG facility is being built for coastal British Columbia, and pipeline infrastructure being set up for that. Wrong coast it turns out because China will be perfectly happy to import from Russia instead. But again, all eyes on China, despite the risks that entailed, which are similar to the risks that western Europe had with Russia.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in region 4, normally we have around 1600KwH in the worst winter month (small house, 2 air pumps). If prices rise 5x as is expected, we're looking at ~8000€ for a single month. (1€/KwH x 5)
Perhaps a dumb question, but do many houses have chimneys? Would burning wood ameliorate the problem?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Turbine manufacturers are predominantly Danish (Vestas), German, (Siemens), USA (GE) and Spain (Iberdrola.) I don't have much of a problem with being dependent on energy cooperation from countries that happen to be my military allies. Moreover, turbine part transportation is such a logistical challenge that manufacturers are always trying to set up assembly facilities near their customers. All four of those companies…
Renewable energy requires IC controllers and electronics all coming from China. Parts are assembled where you mentioned which crucial parts sourced.