Yes, the “World’s Dumbest Energy Policy” Is in Fact Getting a Whole Lot Dumber
By P Gosselin
The “world’s dumbest energy policy” is getting a lot dumber: German power production plummets 11.4% in first half of 2023
Since Germany shut down its remaining nuclear power plants earlier this year, it’s no surprise the country’s electricity generation has slumped and is now more heavily dependent on foreign imports.
Tichy’s Einblick here reports that in the first half of 2023, Germany generated 233.9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. “Sounds like a lot, but it’s not: In fact, it’s 11.4% less than in the first half of 2022.”
Exports fall 18%
In the first six months of 2023, German exports of electric power fell 18.1%. “By contrast, our electricity imports have virtually exploded, by almost a third (+ 30.8%),” Tichy’s Einblick adds.
Keep in mind that Germany shut down its nuclear fleet of plants because of safety issues, in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, yet the country has no problems importing the same type of energy from neighboring countries like France.
Citing Germany’s Federal Statistics Office, destatis: “This import surplus of 7.1 billion kilowatt hours corresponds roughly to the amount of electricity that was still fed in by the three nuclear power plants in Q2 2022 (7.3 billion kilowatt hours).”
French nuclear power comes up the big winner
Currently, “French nuclear power plants there are running smoothly and at full speed again. Our electricity imports from France promptly increased more than from any other country: by a whopping 147.8%. In France alone, we bought 4.4 billion kWh in the first half of 2023,” reports Tichy’s Einblick. “We shut down our nuclear power plants. France generates well over two-thirds of its electricity from its nuclear power plants. What does all this tell us?”
It tell us that Germany’s energy policy is purely ideological and completely detached from economic sense and technical practicality. The only thing that matters is that only green energy gets produced in the country, no matter what the costs are.
But the worst is yet to come as gas imports are restricted and coal power plants are shutting down – all during a time when the demand for electricity is rising because of the electrification of mobility and the heating of homes with heat pumps, which in the future will be mandatory.
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