The graphs are clear: coal shrunk from 33% to 26% of electric power generation last year. Some people expected an increase. They were wrong and the greens were right.
This is in part due to the fact that Germany is now able to import more energy compared to 2022 which saw a decrease in gas availability but also a reduction in nuclear energy production in France due to technical issues.
The question is just exactly how large.
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/default/files/styles/g...
The question is if you are producing enough energy at the time where it is needed by the consumers.
When Germany imports energy, coal based energy in Germany is 50% down. Imports are replacing coal. (Which should be obvious, because running coal plants has fuel costs, solar and wind have no fuel operating costs)
2. This is a 18th century view. Modern states since the 19th century operate on the comparative advantage idea. e.G. Germany imports nearly 100% of electronics (toys, tools) it is using. Countries do not need to produce everything they need, they can import from other countries.
Do you have a source for this?
The sources I seem to find contradict this assertion:
- https://www.iea.org/countries/germany/energy-mix#:~:text=Ene...
- https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-dependen...
> 2. This is a 18th century view. Modern states since the 19th century operate on the comparative advantage idea. e.G. Germany imports nearly 100% of electronics (toys, tools) it is using. Countries do not need to produce everything they need, they can import from other countries.
This is not how energy works, especially not renewable energy.
When it's sunny in Germany, neighbouring countries will also be producing and trying to export solar energy at the same time.
But for the world the total use of fossil fuels is going to keep growing long-term unless we mass switch to nuclear, which is unlikely. My 2c.
I live in a manufacturing city in .de btw, and the "badly hit" manufacturers are hiring.
Look for the total industrial output instead.
Ah well, I have expressed my point, it is not a popular one at HN.
If not, then the comparison doesn't make any sense.
With dropping demand and rising inflation, Germany has a bad economy (just as bad as the UK, but due to different reasons, the UKs main driver is Brexit).
Third, in a crisis Germans spend (even) less money for longer, while people in the US earlier overspend their credit limits. Which boosts the US economy, especially after a recession it growths earlier and faster.
Because of the bad economy BMW and other companies in Germany did not hire as many people as the US did (also compare US to German labor laws as a reason why Germany is well behind the curve when it gets to economy growth).