Berlin is aiming to reach its climate goals by 2030, according to the Economy Ministry
The German government will do most of the work this year to prepare its power market for greater reliance on renewable supplies by the end of the decade, Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced on Monday.
Habeck aims to overhaul the 550-terawatt hours a year (TWh) market amid rising demand as the EU’s largest economy moves away from fossil fuels under its climate commitments.
“We will do most of the necessary work in 2023,” the minister told a consultation meeting on power market reform, noting that the goal is to generate 80% of electricity from wind and the sun by 2030.
According to the minister, the government will prepare tenders for gas-fired power capacity to back up green power as nuclear and coal production is phased out. A strategy for the tenders will be ready this quarter, Habeck said, pointing out that gas will later be replaced with lower-carbon alternatives such as hydrogen.
Germany’s plan could set it apart from some EU countries that are holding on to more stable sources of power, Habeck noted.
“Creating alternative baseload will be a specific challenge. In a way, it will be like teaching an elephant how to dance,” he explained.
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Germany considers diverting ‘green’ subsidies to arms production – Bloomberg
After taking power in December 2021, Olaf Scholz’s coalition government presented an ambitious program foreseeing a transition away from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy.
However, those plans were effectively put on hold after gas prices skyrocketed due in part to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow. Issues with gas pipeline maintenance and then the sabotage of the Nord Stream network further exacerbated tight Russian supplies.
In a bid to ensure energy security, the authorities in Berlin ordered in September that idled brown coal mines could be resurrected. The phasing out of coal-fired power plants was also postponed until March 2024.
Estonia has reportedly urged similar measures to be taken against the sanctioned country’s LNG exports
The EU should lower the $60-a-barrel price cap on Russian oil by half and impose similar measures against the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, Bloomberg quotes Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu as saying on Monday.
According to the media outlet, Reinsalu insisted that the current $60-a-barrel limit is “far too high” and should be lowered to $30-a-barrel as “Russia gets billions from that business.”
The price cap on Russian seaborne oil exports of $60 per barrel was introduced by the EU on December 5. It bans Western companies from providing insurance and other services to shipments of Russian oil unless the cargo is purchased at or below the set price.
Brussels has secured commitments from members of the bloc to revise the Russian oil-price ceiling every two months and to set future caps at least 5% below average market rates.
The average price of Urals crude was $46.82 per barrel between January 15 and February 14, according to the Russian finance ministry.
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Russian oil revenues much higher than reported – Goldman Sachs
Estonia has also demanded the imposition of an additional price ceiling on Russian LNG. While Moscow’s oil shipments to the EU have shrunk by two-thirds, according to International Energy Agency, exports of LNG have surged, with France, Belgium, and Spain being the main buyers.
According to Reinsalu, combined measures would create a “holistic approach to pressure Russia” as the EU is looking for more ways to punish Moscow.
LNG production in Russia increased by 8.1% last year to a record 32.5 million tons, the Federal Statistics Service Rosstat reported earlier this month, with 11.5 million tons of the fuel produced at the Sakhalin-2 plant alone.
Despite increased renewable capacity, the country will still need more oil and gas to grow
China’s wind and solar power generation surged last year and is now almost equal to household demand for electricity, the National Energy Administration (NEA) announced on Monday. However, the share of residential intake is only a fraction of overall consumption, meaning that the Asian country is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels.
In 2022, wind and solar energy production soared 21% to 1,190 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, according to the NEA.
Despite the surge in Chinese wind and solar power installations and generation, only 17% of electricity use in the country was classified as residential in 2020, while industry accounts for around 60% of all electricity demand, according to the International Energy Agency.
Beijing is ramping up the rollout of solar and wind capacity in line with its ambitious plans to produce 33% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025 in order to reduce carbon emissions. At least 30 Chinese provinces have unveiled more renewable installation programs.
In December, China launched a massive clean energy project worth more than $11 billion in its seventh-largest desert in the province of Inner Mongolia. The solar and wind power base with an overall installed capacity of 16 million kW will be the world’s largest renewable electricity generation facility of its kind in a desert area, according the company in charge of its construction.
However, some economists warn that this year, the Chinese economy will expand much faster after lifting Covid restrictions, meaning that even with increased wind and solar capacity, the country will still need more fossil fuel-powered energy generation to keep its economy growing.
In announcing her bid for the Republican nomination for president last week, the former governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations put candidates’ ages front and center.
As Politico reported, Haley, 51, expressed support for a policy mandating mental competency tests for politicians older than 75.
It’s an issue that’s been on many voters’ minds since Joe Biden hit the campaign trail in April 2019. Stumbles – both verbal and stair-related – have given rise to questions about his fitness for the job at 80 years old.
Fellow octogenarian Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wasn’t having it.
“We are fighting racism, we’re fighting sexism, we’re fighting homophobia — I think we should also be fighting ageism,” Sanders told “Face the Nation” Margaret Brennan Sunday.
Politicians should be judged for their beliefs, the 81-year-old said.
“There are a lot of 40-year-olds out there who ain’t particularly competent. Older people, you know, you look at the individual. I don’t think you make a blanket statement,” said Sanders.
Haley is right – but only by half.
All candidates for president should have to pass a mental competency test, regardless of age. Think of it as a political version of the SAT – candidates would have to demonstrate at the very least a working knowledge of the Constitution, what factors trigger economic expansion and recession, key industries that are experiencing layoffs and worker shortages, and come up with three ways to solve those problems.
They don’t have to be experts on foreign relations, but they would need to show a solid grasp of geography and global alliances.
Candidates should understand how inflation works, and how spending trillions of dollars does not equal zero.
Presidential debates give but a glimpse of candidates’ competencies. They’re about performance, giving as good as they get and verbal sparring. The goal is to project an image of being the best person for the job, and to give their agendas and buzzwords a good airing before the American people.
Having a catchy slogan is an indication of a crack campaign team, not of a candidate’s smarts or depth of knowledge. Meet-and-greet sessions in small-town diners are all about the photo op, ditto cozy chats with senior citizens and high-fiving union workers (depending on one’s political bent).
Voters need to know that presidential candidates know what they’re doing. They may not agree with their approach to a problem, but those casting ballots should at least feel secure that their choice has the acumen to take on the job at hand.
Our election cycles and endless campaigns are more about the sizzle than the steak. Who appears more presidential, or sounds more authoritative, or has the “common” touch. All that is window dressing.
A basic political competency test given to all candidates – regardless of age – would give the voting public a non-partisan opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize one thing: Capitol Hill will hate the idea.
