MCViewPoint

Opinion from a Libertarian ViewPoint

Posts Tagged ‘electricity’

German Electricity Imports Hit New Record As Nuclear Phase-Out Increases Production Cost

Posted by M. C. on September 6, 2023

Despite closing its nuclear power plants to focus on renewable energy production, more than a fifth of imported electricity last month was produced from nuclear power…

Must have been an overcast and windless summer. The problem couldn’t be shutting the highly efficient but limited nuclear power supply while simultaneously shutting off Europe’s major natural gas source. No Way! But wait! It must be too much demand.

Fortunately we have Gates’ plans to eliminate excess population and, what WEF’s Yuval Harari describes as, “useless eaters”.

We are truly blessed to have these people.

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/german-electricity-imports-hit-new-record-nuclear-phase-out-increases-production-cost

Tyler Durden's Photo

by Tyler Durden

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

Germany is importing more electricity than ever before after purchasing a record 6,505 gigawatt hours from abroad in August, according to the Federal Network Agency.

The federal government has replaced much of the electricity produced by its recently closed nuclear power stations with imported electricity, almost half of which was ironically produced using nuclear power and fossil fuels.

This resulted in a significant electricity trade balance deficit, with the country importing €557 million worth of electricity more than it exported to its EU neighbors last month.

Electricity imports typically occur through the construction of transmission lines or undersea cables that connect power grids across national borders. The energy can be generated from various sources including hydroelectric, nuclear, fossil fuels such as gas and coal, or renewable energy.

And despite the German federal government seeking to prioritize renewable energy sources to generate power, evidenced by its policy decision to shut down the country’s remaining nuclear power plants earlier this year, 21 percent of the imported electricity last month was generated by nuclear power and 28 percent was generated by burning coal and gas, according to the Bild newspaper.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz sought to play down concerns over rising imports back in July, claiming that “every year there are phases in which we buy electricity from other countries.”

However, electricity imports into Germany have increased significantly since the closure of the country’s nuclear power plants on April 15.

See the rest here

Be seeing you

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Licensing Laws Deepen South Africa’s Electricity Crisis | Mises Wire

Posted by M. C. on June 14, 2023

The Electricity Regulation Act of 2006 is a textbook example of licensing laws that ultimately serve incumbents at the expense of not only prospective competitors but also customers who can benefit from innovations made by these competitors. In the case of South Africa’s electricity crisis, licensing laws are making South Africa’s electricity crisis unnecessarily more difficult to solve because NERSA has the last word on who can compete and how competitors can compete in the electricity market.

https://mises.org/wire/licensing-laws-deepen-south-africas-electricity-crisis

Since 2007, South Africa has been experiencing an electricity crisis. Eskom (a South African state-owned company) cannot produce enough electricity to meet increasing demand, so Eskom has implemented rolling blackouts, which is also called “load shedding” by the South African government. Rolling blackouts involve Eskom periodically and intentionally stopping the delivery of electricity to certain parts of South Africa to avoid a total blackout.

The severity of rolling blackouts increases as Eskom’s capacity to produce electricity decreases, and the severity of the rolling blackouts are categorized into stages—where “stage 1” is the least severe and “stage 8” is the most severe for now. Energy experts and even government officials have suggested solutions but to no avail because the South African government ignores them.

In this piece, I argue two points. First, I argue that South Africa’s electricity licensing laws need to be eliminated or amended. Second, I argue that those same licensing laws prevent effective and affordable electricity supply solutions from being implemented, deepening South Africa’s electricity crisis.

Here are some facts about South Africa’s electricity crisis. According to data from Statistics South Africa, Eskom’s yearly average electricity production share is 94 percent, and South Africa’s electricity production decreased by 11 percent while Eskom’s electricity production decreased by 18 percent since the beginning of the rolling blackouts in 2007.

The decrease in South Africa’s electricity production is attributed to Eskom’s aging infrastructure and corruption. According to data from EskomSePush, South Africa experienced 311 days (over seven thousand hours) of rolling blackouts in 2022. Rolling blackouts have negatively affected businesses and livelihoods to the point where businesses have experienced significant decreases in profits and also had to cut jobs as a consequence. On the lighter side—and I say this sarcastically—the rolling blackouts have assisted South Africa in beating its climate goals, since less production in electricity leads to less emissions of greenhouse gasses.

Eskom’s domination in South Africa’s electricity market is no accident. Legislation has given Eskom unique privileges and protection from outside competition ever since its inception in 1922. Anton Eberhard writes:

See the rest here

Be seeing you

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Without fossil fuels there is no need for electricity

Posted by M. C. on May 17, 2022

the greenies need to identify the replacement or clone for crude oil, to keep the world’s population of 8 billion fed and healthy, and economies running with the more than6,000 productsnow made with manufactured derivatives from crude oil,

By Ronald Stein 

https://www.cfact.org/2022/05/13/without-fossil-fuels-there-is-no-need-for-electricity/

America is in a fast pursuit toward achieving President Biden’s stated goal that “we are going to get rid of fossil fuels” to achieve the Green New Deal’s (GND) pursuit of wind turbines and solar panels to provide electricity to run the world, but WAIT, everything in our materialistic lives and economies cannot exist without crude oil, coal, and natural gas.

Everything that needs electricity, from lights, vehicles, iPhones, defibrillators, computers, telecommunications, etc., are all made with the oil derivatives manufactured from crude oil.

The need for electricity will decrease over time without crude oil. With no new things to power, and the deterioration of current things made with oil derivatives over the next few decades and centuries, the existing items that need electricity will not have replacement parts and will ultimately become obsolete in the future and the need for electricity will diminish accordingly.

The Green New Deal proposal calls on the federal government to wean the United States from fossil fuels and focus on electricity from wind and solar, but why? What will there be to power in the future without fossil fuels?

Rather than list the more than 6,000 products made from the oil derivatives manufactured from crude oil, I will let the readers list what is NOT dependent on oil derivatives that will need electricity. They can begin listing them here ______  ________   _______.

And by the way, crude oil came before electricity. The electricity that came AFTER the discovery of oil, is comprised of components made with those same oil derivatives from crude oil. Thus, getting rid of crude oil, also eliminates our ability to make wind turbines, solar panels, as well as those vehicles intended to be powered by an EV battery.

Today, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) divesting in fossil fuels are all the rage with big banks, Wall Street firms, and financial institutions, to divest in all 3 fossil fuels of coal, natural gas, and crude oil. Both President Biden and the United Nations support allowing banks and investment giants to collude to reshape economies and our energy infrastructure toward JUST electricity from wind and solar.

A reduction in the usage of coal, natural gas, and crude oil would lead us to life as it was without the crude oil infrastructure and those products manufactured from oil that did not exist before 1900, i.e., the decarbonized world that existed in the 1800’s and before when life was hard, and life expectancy was short.

Ridding the world of crude oil would result in less manufactured oil derivatives and lead to a reduction in each of the following:

  • The 50,000 heavy-weight and long-range merchant ships that are moving products throughout the world.
  • The 50,000 heavy-weight and long-range jets used by commercial airlines, private usage, and the military.
  • The number of wind turbines and solar panels as they are made with oil derivatives from crude oil.
  • The pesticides to control locusts and other pests.
  • The tires for the billions of vehicles.
  • The asphalt for the millions of miles of roadways.
  • The medications and medical equipment.
  • The vaccines.
  • The water filtration systems.
  • The sanitation systems.
  • The communications systems, including cell phones, computers, iPhones, and iPads.
  • The number of cruise ships that now move twenty-five million passengers around the world.
  • The space program.

Before we rid the world of all three fossil fuels of coal, natural gas, and crude oil, the greenies need to identify the replacement or clone for crude oil, to keep the world’s population of 8 billion fed and healthy, and economies running with the more than6,000 productsnow made with manufactured derivatives from crude oil, along with the fuels manufactured from crude oil to move the heavy-weight and long-range needs of more than 50,000 jets and more than 50,000 merchant ships, and the military and space programs.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Spain Complains To EU Over Soaring Cost Of Electricity; But Guess What… | ZeroHedge

Posted by M. C. on August 5, 2021

What you are never and it is the same for all corporate taxes: “Utility companies pass on the cost of that tax to their customers.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/spain-complains-eu-over-soaring-cost-electricity-guess-what

Tyler Durden's Photoby Tyler Durden

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Record High Prices 

The Independent reports Record-High Electricity Bills Draw Criticism to Spain’s Gov’t.

The government says that the latest hikes in electricity bills are driven by spiraling prices of so-called carbon certificates, which give companies the right to release carbon dioxide, gas imports that Spain needs to complete its energy mix, and the surging power demand of the summer months.

In the latest effort to rein in prices, lawmakers were voting Wednesday on whether to uphold the government’s move last month to cut the value-added tax on most households’ electricity bills from 21% to 10% until the end of this year and to scrap a 7% tax on power generation for at least three months. Utility companies pass on the cost of that tax to their customers.

Facua, one of Spain’s biggest consumer rights platforms, said that Spaniards will see on average a 35% hike on their July electricity bill compared to the same month in 2020. The increase comes at a time when many households are grappling with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said that she had written a letter to the EU’s executive branch stressing the need to reform the bloc’s electricity market, but warned that the upward trend in prices was likely to continue in the coming months.

Spain Urges EU to Act on Soaring Energy Prices

The Financial Times reports Spain Urges EU to Act on Soaring Energy Prices.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Teresa Ribera, Spain’s deputy prime minister for the environment, suggested that high prices and charges could provoke a backlash against carbon-cutting initiatives, with Spain in the “eye of the hurricane”. 

Please Iron at at 2:00AM

In addition to complaining to the EU the Energy Department Has Suggestions like iron and cook at night.

The Facua-Consumers in Action organization claims that asking customers to use their appliances at night is “degrading” for the most vulnerable consumers.

“You can’t make the consumer responsible for their bill being high just because they haven’t done the ironing or put their appliances on during the cheapest periods,” Facua states.

“These times coincide with when people should be getting some rest.”

Why Are Spain’s Bills the Highest in the EU?

Spain currently counts on renewable energy sources for nearly 50% of its supply. 

Guess what happens when you depend on unreliable sources? 

Greens Demand More Clean Energy 

But hey, the EU wants more clean energy. 

Specifically, the EU seeks an energy tax that would drive up the costs of basically everything. 

Sink America Plan

The Socialists and Greens in the US latched on to that idea. 

On July 15, I commented The Greens Hijack Biden’s $3.5 Trillion Budget Proposal 

On July 30, Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema expressed concerns over the plan to which AOC said “No Climate, No Deal”. 

That is the preferred outcome of those with an ounce of common sense.

Previously, I proposed labeling the plan the Stagflation Guarantee Act of 2021.

However, that name is not catchy enough.

“Sink America Plan” is a better name for this proposed boondoggle.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Saudi 16-year-old tortured with electricity and BEHEADED – LewRockwell

Posted by M. C. on April 28, 2019

A heads up from our Middle East partners.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/political-theatre/saudi-16-year-old-tortured-with-electricity-and-beheaded/

World News
SAUDI SAVAGERY

Saudi Arabia mass execution – Lad, 16, tortured with electricity and BEHEADED just for sending WhatsApp messages about protests

Abdulkareem al-Hawa was put to death in front of a baying crowd along with 36 other men who were executed this week in the barbaric desert kingdom

By Patrick Knox and Mark Hodge
26th April 2019, 10:44 am
Updated: 27th April 2019, 8:03 pm

A YOUNG lad was tortured with electricity and beheaded in Saudi Arabia because he sent WhatsApp messages about a protest aged 16.

Abdulkarim al-Hawaj, 21, was a schoolboy when he was detained and accused of being a “terrorist” for sending texts online about an anti-government demonstration.

Abdulkareem al-Hawaj was just 16 when he was arrested

5

Abdulkareem al-Hawaj was just 16 when he was arrested

He was a Shiite Muslim – which is a persecuted minority group in Sunni-dominated Saudi – living in the troubled Eastern province.

Abdulkarim was beaten and tortured with electricity while his hands were chained above his head when he “confessed” to his crimes, human rights charity Reprieve said.

According to Amnesty International, his trial was a farce because he was denied access to a proper defence lawyer and convicted on the forced confession.

Aside from torture, the charity also claims that his captors threatened to kill his family if did not confess to the crimes.

This week, he had his head cut from his body in front of a baying, bloodthirsty crowd along with 36 other men in the medieval country.

BUTCHERED FOR SENDING TEXT MESSAGES

Sentencing a person to death who is aged under 18 is banned under international law.

Another victim, Mujtaba al-Sweikat, was a teenager who was set to start a new life in the US, studying at Western Michigan University, when he was arrested for attending an anti-government protest.

The then-17-year-old – who had enrolled in English language and finance – was badly beaten including on the soles of his feet before he “confessed” to crimes against the state.

Human rights charities claim he was also tortured into confessing and convicted in a “sham trial.”

Despite his university protesting his sentence, insisting he had “great promise,” Mujtaba was also beheaded this week.

Mujtaba al-Sweikat was beheaded this week for spreading information about a protest in Saudi Arabia when he was 17

HANDOUT

5

Mujtaba al-Sweikat was beheaded this week for spreading information about a protest in Saudi Arabia when he was 17

A majority of executions in Saudi Arabia are carried out by public beheading

REX FEATURES

5

A majority of executions in Saudi Arabia are carried out by public beheading

Reprieve Deputy Director Harriet McCulloch insists both men were sharing information about “peaceful” demonstrations.

She said: “Many things can be used to justify a death sentence in Mohammed Bin Salman’s Saudi Arabia, including ‘disobedience against the King’, ‘preparing banners with anti-state slogans’ and ‘incitement via social media’.

“Mujtaba al-Sweikat and Abdulkarim al-Hawaj were teenagers sharing information about peaceful protests on their mobile phones…

Be seeing you

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »