"Green" policies are destroying this country

Statement by President von der Leyen on energy (Sept 07)

Anyone remember the previous 2 weeks to flatten the curve . . . and how well that worked out.

Her 5 points.

1. flatten the curve (hint: warm blankets, clothing, candles and thermos flask for hot water and soup)

2. cap the profits from wind and solar (coining it at the moment due to high price of gas and CfDs.)

3. tax oil & gas profits.

4. taxpayers underwrite the middlemen (suppliers)

5. price cap on Russian gas (And the Russians are obliged to sell, they will just flare off the gas)

The first option is near irrelevant to the problem and only helps the supply-demand balance in the most marginal, minimal way possible. The third option actively worsens the supply-demand balance.

With European countries buying up all the LNG they can get their hands on: Thailand at risk of fuel crunch with imported gas too pricey

Another issue she does not address is the carbon price. They intend to cap the wholesale price of natural gas, presumably at a much lower price than it is now. Then they add back costs via the carbon price onto gas generators. The whole carbon pricing system must be suspended until further notice.

Yes, i spotted the parallel immediately with the "2 weeks to flatten the curve". That statement wasnt a coincidence. I always thought that the Covid measures were a good trial run for the future.I also had to laugh about ' a price cap on russian gas', as if the market price hasnt gone up and Putin has squeezed supply and is now selling the stuff to China and India (who are selling it back to the EU at elevated prices). Does she really believe that they can control the price? I think not. It is just signalling that they are doing 'something' and pretending to have some control over the process. Oh, and Russia has been taken out of the financial system so no dollars or euros. Now you have to pay in Roubles, still going strong. Dont pay fully, get cut off like Russia did with France recently. The squeeze runs both ways, folks!

But hey, this post will be seen by some as supporting Putin io the reality that plays out. As long as we can signal our virtue everything goes. Makes you feel good you know😉

Just a reminder. Renewables currently at 13%, the rest mainly imported oil and gas (over 80%). The Greens would, of course, like to see the renewables up to 100% but as reasonable people will settle for 'just' 80% by implementing (read enforcing) policies. By driving down fossil fuels they hope new green tech will take over and do exactly the same thing as fossil fuels. This is called 'hopium'. The idea is to make green energy on par with fossil fuel on price. Many greens really like the recent fossil fuel price hike but usually dont admit it in public. This makes green energy as cheap (or expensive) as fossil fuels. They play down reliability and all the other drawbacks because, again, technology will of course get us out of there. In time but we have no time so...we have to go with it anyway, now because we have to save the planet. Now. The rest falls by the wayside.

Let me state here, there is nothing wrong with wind and solar power but if you make it the end all you are an ideologue with blinkers on and responsible for human suffering all over the world.

I just helped my brother installing solar panels on his roof in Holland. He lives on a barge with plenty of roof space. He has taken out a state approved loan of 20.000 euro and includes new triple glazed windows. He can pay it back in 10 years with a monthly cost that is less than what he paid for gas (especially now). AND he can put electricity back into the grid and get a decent return price. The geography of Holland makes solar a good option. In Ireland it is wind first and foremost.

For my wife and i: we have a dormer style house and run an Aga w kerosine. The price has doubled in 6 months (800 to 1600). We are looking at the price of triple glazing to save energy. The new grands are of no use to us afaik. Attic already insulated, cavity walls insulation not possible. No grand for triple glazing. We are looking at at least 5000 euro cost. The government will continue to clamp down on fossil fuels. I cannot transit to renewables and get rid of the Aga without another 20.000+ investment. Ie, i cannot go where my brother is and that is the story of most people in Ireland. They want you to invest and say (or pretend) you can get your investment back in time. But the simple equation my brother can make and actually save money right away is not an option because it only works for solar. Before being connected to the grid my brother ran both a diesel generator and a small windmill. That broke and was not cost effective. Solar can be a good solution for individuals but depends on location/geography. In Ireland you cannot use it effectively and small windmills on properties are not supported. That leaves big windmills off and onshore. To go from 18 to 80% renewables in a short period of time by enforcing rules is madness.

President van der Leyen may as well of held her hands up and said, "We backed Germany and the greens legislation and totally fcuk up, and we have no idea how to fix that", rather than add to the farce.

I do not remember flattening the curve with Covid meaning encouraging more to become infected, so how do you flatten an energy curve while promoting the use of more energy for heat pumps and EV`s

Capping the excessive profits from wind and solar makes sense, but then it was the E.U. that put the policy in place that allowed those excessive profits in the first place.

Taxing fossil fuels and the E.U. taxonomy legislation resulted in fossil fuel and nuclear under investment which is now also part of the problem. The E.U. finally recognised that changing the taxonomy rules for gas and nuclear, but it was too little and too late by the time they did.

Taxpayers underwriting speculating middlemen, what could possibly go wrong there. It was such a great success during the banking crisis.

Capping the price of Russian gas when the Russian`s are refusing to sell it to the E.U. other than on Russia`s terms is as useful as bolting the stable door when the horse is long gone. Especially when the Russians have an ever increasing demand for their gas in Asia caused by E.U. policy.

Diesel gate is irrelevant. Diesel exhausts contain the most potent carcinogen ever discovered, which has nothing whatsoever to do with NOX. This knowledge about 3-nitrobenzanthrone was available since 1997, when Gormley lived up to his name and made owning and operating a petrol vehicle far more expensive than a diesel.

Dieselgate doesn't begin to be an excuse for the excise on petrol and the taxing of petrol cars being maintained after 2015. Still to this very moment petrol contains Gormley's fuc​king tax hike, 7 years on from when it should have been removed.

As much as it's fashionable to heap scorn on Green ideology, the cut off from gas and oil molecules from Russia are not the Greens doing. It is more a concidence of wants, the Greens intention is that hydrocarbon based fuels are eliminated and they have spent years lobbying for and got the legislation to ratchet up energy prices to make cheap energy a thing of the past. The actions of the larger political parties to impose sanctions on Russia are not their concern as far as they are concerned this will accererate the transition to energy nirvana (or electrical grids powered by rainbow and unicorn farts). Ther are trying to leverage blaming Putin for the fact that their actions put the public in this position and took a way any leverage that the EU has over Russia. The blame for that rests on the shoulders of Angela Merkel.

Green junta wholeheartedly adopted most of socialist ideas and principles. Deciding who is going to use what modes of transport, energy, temperature in your house, prescribing how many times one can shower... Economy planning (ending up always wrong)...

The opposition against fracking is usually the same as the one against GM food and quite a few other ones. Accidents and bad stuff will happen and taken as proof that the whole thing should abandoned instead of regulated (Monsanto anyone?). The 1920s dust bowl in the US was about land management. When oil was discovered they were dumping left over gasoline in the rivers. Over time better regulation and technological advancement will get rid of most of the drawbacks as it has with fracking. It is ironic to see that the Greens always seem to bet on better green tech in the future while rejecting other ones like fossil or nuclear energy. The same with the population bomb. As if everything remains the same. Of course it doesnt. Again, adaptation will save the day/year/decade..