Germany demolishes wind farm to expand coal field
Even as the West shoves its green climate agenda down the throat of the developing world, it seeks to widen its own dependence on ‘fossil fuels’
In the latest instance, Germany is witnessing the dismantling of a large wind farm; only to expand a nearby open-pit lignite coal mine.
German energy giant RWE is undertaking the dismantling work in the western region of North Rhine Westphalia, where one wind turbine has already been dismantled. The company plans to weed out seven more to pave the way for an additional 15m to 20m tonnes of so-called ‘brown’ coal to be excavated.
Brown coal, by the way, is considered (by some – Ed) one of the most polluting energy sources in the world.
Expansion of coal field blamed on Ukraine crisis
RWE and the German government justify the move by saying that it was necessary to steer clear of a massive energy crisis.
It said how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine jeopardised Germany’s energy security and the expansion of the so-called Garzweiler coal fields was required to meet the country’s energy demands.
Germany’s minister for economy and climate action Robert Habeck defended the expansion as the “right decision.” According to RWE, the expansion is necessary “due to the energy crisis.”
Expansion of coal field part of a wider deal
The expansion of the coalfield is being done under a deal brokered last year between RWE and the German government. In return, RWE had promised to completely phase out coal in 2030, eight years before the previous deadline. “It’s a good day for climate protection,” Habeck said at the time.
Move invites sharp criticism
The move to demolish wind farms to make way for more coal excavation has triggered massive criticism by activists.
“The current climate emergency requires urgent and concerted efforts to accelerate the deployment of every single wind turbine, solar panel and heat pump that we can muster,” said Fabian Hübner, a senior campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels, a German-based coalition of climate activists.
“Anything that diverts from this critical endeavour, especially the dismantling of renewable energy sources to extract more fossil fuels, must be unequivocally prohibited,” he added.
See more here wionews.com
Header image: RWE
Editor’s note: The Garzweiler Mine houses two of the largest moving objects ever built, the Bagger 288 and 293 bucket wheel excavators. They weigh 14,000 tons each, and can move 240,000 m3 (8,500,000 cu ft) of soil per day.
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Andy,
Somewhat related from another Dakota boy.
Site logo image Climate Change Sanity
Unsold Electric Vehicles Piling Up in Car Dealerships
cbdakota
Sep 15
Epoch Times posted: “Waiting for Buyers to come: Unsold Electric Vehicle Piling up in Car Dealership”:
“The number of unsold electric vehicles at dealers in the second quarter tripled compared to the past year, signaling a weakened demand for the segment, said a recent report by leading auto-dealer data company Cox Automotive.
In the second quarter 2023, the average inventory for electric vehicles (EVs) topped more than 92,000 units on the ground at dealer lots, according to the 2023 Cox Automotive Mid-Year Review presentation. This is up 342 percent compared to second quarter 2022. During this period, the new “EV days’ supply,” which refers to the average number of days a warehouse holds inventory before selling it, rose 166 percent, to 92 days from 38.5 days. While the pace of EV sales is up, it is “not rising as fast as inventory builds,” said Jonathan Gregory, senior manager, Economic and Industry Insights.
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are facing a “field of dreams moment,” he stated. “They have built inventory, and now they wait for buyers to come. This is one of the hottest topics we’ve had this year.”
“Brands like Jaguar, Infiniti, and Lincoln had the highest days of supply, at over 100 days. The lowest numbers were seen among Toyota, Honda, Kia, and Lexus, with each brand having less than 30 days of supply.
“Tesla continued to dominate the luxury EV segment with a market share of 25.5 percent, followed by Mercedes at 12.5 percent, BMW at 12.2 percent, and Lexus at 11 percent. Among EVs priced above $50,000, Ford held the biggest share at 22.1 percent, followed by Chevrolet at 12.1 percent.”
This is Money UK posting says resale of EVs are not going well in the UK::
“Electric cars have endured the worst year in their short history in terms of falling prices with some ‘nearly new’ year-old battery vehicles losing more than half of their value, data shared exclusively with This is Money reveals.
The last 12 months has seen second-hand electric vehicle (EV) values plunge as a result of falling demand and an oversupply of used examples entering the market.
We reveal the 30 electric cars that have nosedived most, all of them shedding in excess of 30 per cent of their value a year ago, with the worst affected plummeting by more than half its average 2022 price.
But have we seen the worst of it for crashing EV prices? A market expert explains his prediction for what will happen to electric car values in the coming months – will they continue to drop like a stone or begin to level out?
The Verge Posts the volume of EV sales: “…. this past January for example: EVs made up 7.83 percent of new vehicle sales in the United States, with 66,416 battery electric vehicles and 14,143 plug-in
hybrid vehicles sold. That same month also saw the sale of 950,000 new ICE light-duty vehicles, as well as approximately another 3 million used ICE vehicles.”
Hybrids, remember, have a gasoline engine in them as well a big battery. So that 66,416 EV were sold, and 950,000 ICEs sold in the same month. Internal combustion engine sales are (ICE)14 times greater than EV sales.
One of the problems facing the sale of EVs is, to date, the EV industry has virtually no used car market! In addition to the constant EV charging challenges, who wants a used EV that may soon need an expensive battery replacement?
With about 73 percent of all car sales being that of used combustion engine cars, the lack of a resale market for EV’s may be a major problem for the auto industry.
Whether or not the new EVs pick up in sales, the resale picture does not look good. But if the used car market does not pickup, it will probably be a bad omen for the EV industry.
The next posting looks at the car buyers’ views of EVs
cbdakota
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Howdy
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“According to RWE, the expansion is necessary “due to the energy crisis.””
So are they all saying Putin did them a favour by shock tactics?
Clean air is one thing, but when the negatives of lunacy hit the people calling the shots too, it tends to soften the resolve.
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