A wind farm is being dismantled in western Germany to make way for an expansion of an open-pit lignite coal mine in a “paradoxical” situation highlighting the current prioritization of energy security over clean energy in Europe’s biggest economy.
The European energy crisis might be good, claims Bill Gates. According to the billionaire, countries would turn to renewable energy as a result of gas shortages and exorbitant prices.
General Electric (GE) plans to make major job cuts in its U.S. wind operations and will consider its other markets too as windfarms are proving to be a major expense in the wake of Covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Continued supply chain disruption and the high cost of wind turbines are deterring companies from investing in wind energy, as they look for cheaper alternatives.
The biggest refinery in Europe, Shell’s Pernis in the Netherlands, suffered a malfunction late on Wednesday, which could exacerbate an already worsening fuel supply situation in northwest Europe due to the strikes in France.
According to France24, the French police are checking fuel tanks before allowing people to fill up, and only those with "priority occupations" are permitted to refuel.
One may surmise that Western sanctions against Russia are failing if Europeans are now turning to trash burning to heat their homes. This comes in the wake of Polish households burning trash just to stay warm as sanctions on Russia backfire.
According to SPIEGEL information, high explosive devices equivalent to 500 kilogrammes of TNT were used to destroy Nord Stream.
This week saw the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen do something that would have probably been considered the opposite of democracy just a few years ago. She proposed that governments impose a ceiling on certain energy producers' revenues and add a windfall profit for Big Oil majors. Called "a solidarity contribution" or "a crisis contribution," the windfall tax's aim is the same as the aim of the revenue ceiling: manage energy costs in a runaway inflation environment and get some additional money to, according to the plan, distribute among those who most need it.
As the output of nuclear energy in France has reached an all-time low, France is now preparing to nationalise its struggling nuclear industry.
Despite being one of the richest nations in the world, Switzerland is one of the least energy self-sufficient, with domestic power production only meeting 25% of the nation's energy requirements. The current situation has become so dire that Switzerland’s environment minister is suggesting that people shower together in order to save energy.
