The campaign against coal power continues in Germany. Two new studies come to relatively similar estimates of the number of people who die every year from coal emissions in Germany alone – and one organization says some EU standards are more lax than those in China and the US. Craig Morris wonders whether the various numbers from different studies will convince skeptics.
Archives
Germany builds minus six coal plants after nuclear phaseout
In a recent paper about Germany’s energy transition, Craig Morris found one particular claim that he wanted to investigate: have the Germans built any coal plants to make up for lost nuclear power since 2011?
Wanna be 30 percent renewable in 2014? Just consume German power
In a recent article about the German energy transition, a researcher in the US looks at the challenges Germany faces. But Craig Morris thinks the report says more about Americans than about Germany.
German reliance on coal from the US
A German NGO has joined the call for a German coal phaseout – and invited a US activist to Germany to raise awareness about where Germany’s hard coal is coming from. Craig Morris wonders whether the discussion is focusing on what’s important.
Watts per m2 – say what?
A recent scientific paper wondered whether the potential of wind power worldwide has not been overestimated. Craig Morris could not help noticing that the calculation was based on something he has never seen it used in the German debate: watts per square meter.
“Efficiency lacks a loud lobby”: An interview with Florentin Krause
Recently, our Craig Morris did a three-part book review of the original “Energiewende: growth and prosperity without petroleum and uranium” from 1980. He then spoke with one of the authors, Florentin Krause, who had a few bones to pick with Craig’s reading – and with the current implementation of the concept in Germany.
The Battle over Electricity
Paul Hockenos recently sat down to interview energy and environment expert Claudia Kemfert. Kemfert, who is no spokesperson for the Greens or anyone else, argues that the naysayers are not shooting straight but rather have armed themselves with spurious arguments, low-ball populism, and outright lies. In her recent book, she aims to correct the myths that, she argues, are slowly turning Germans against the clean energy switch.
Dubious reports about “Energiewende in doubt”
The Anglo world repeatedly reads news about Germany’s changes to energy policy as a sign that Germany is abandoning renewables. Craig Morris says the misunderstanding is cultural; the success of Germany’s switch to efficiency and renewables, macroeconomic.
Let’s not forget community ownership
A recent report at USA Today throws together a lot of disparate problems to explain why renewables are “losing their shine” in Europe. As Craig Morris points out, feed-in tariffs are not subsidies, Europe is not Germany, and we still overlook the main driving force behind the German energy transition.
“The Era of Coal is Over” – In Los Angeles!
The City of Los Angeles has announced that it plans to replace coal power with renewables, efficiency and natural gas starting immediately. Craig Morris wonders how doomed coal is in the rest of the US – and in Germany.