"German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that the plan “combines independence, affordability and climate protection…It is not just extreme weather events around the world that demonstrate how urgently we need to do more to protect the climate,” he said. “If the situation in the Strait of Hormuz determines whether people can still afford their daily commute to work, that is not a good state of affairs.”
If there’s been an upside to the Middle East War, it’s that it’s been a giant advertisement for renewable energy. Not just cheaper, cleaner, & better, crucially it means energy-independence, too.
Smart move by Germany. Their industrial and manufacturing base is getting clobbered by China because they stuck with the dying fossil fuel paradigm for too long. Every other EU nation has committed to ending fossil fuel use, hopefully this further accelerates their efforts, too.
Wait a second, my utility company was telling me the same thing 20 years ago. I wonder if their voluntary and toothless promises made a difference?
** checks current energy mix ** Nope, they still only allocate green energy as legally required, since they can still build (and earn rate of return on) more fossil fuel infrastructure. Surely they wouldn’t lie twice?
But you can switch to a 100 % renewables utility company tho and vote with your wallet
You guys have the option to switch utility companies?..
We’re a monopoly here. To change companies you have to physically move.
Yes… And no. It all still comes through AEP. However, you can choose your supplier.
Yes we do. I think it’s EU regulation. There is a “base company” responsible for the network in a region and they are often also a producer/supplier to consumers themselves. But then there are many (dozens per region) other suppliers you can buy your power from. And they both sell power to consumers and they build power plants. My supplier (and a few others in the region) only invest in solar, wind, water, and only in the own region. At times when they need to sell more electricity to consumers than they produce with their own plants, they of course are actually selling dirty electricity, but they will still only invest in clean renewables themselves for production so it’s still the better choice.
In the US, most people have one option, a legal monopoly whose rates are set by the municipal government, and customers treat the energy company as one entity even if there is a grid operator and many electricity producers. There are exceptions (as with anything in the US) but that’s the general rule.
In other news, I’m really tempted to pull the trigger on a pallet of PV panels and DIY that install, but then I remember the inverter doubles the cost.
Paying more for the same energy mix (because you can’t filter electricity) seems a bit pointless?
Your choice of supplier influences which kinds of projects get financed more easily.
In my state, I’ve tried to confirm that they can’t count what you voluntary choose as green energy, as also counting under their mandatory green quota.
Other states are different where you have more than one power company. My state doesn’t have that, just green washing.
:(