Ironically, natural gas-free Sweden is in truble as well, and we've had to start our reserve oil-fired power plants. Why? Because 4 out of 10 reactors are offline, due to repairs, uprates, problems and so on. This is the third winter in a row with this problem. Conspiracy theories refuse to go away from the media (and they might be true), about how the power oligopoly keep the nukes offline to maximise their profits. The beauty of oligopoly combined with marginal cost power pricing... Thank god for my hedge in the form of Fortum stock.
Stenungsund power plant. At 820 MW, it's the biggest oil-fired power plant in Europe, located completely underground to boot. As a reserve plant, it's still in mint condition, with block 1-2 a 50's vintage work of art, and block 3-4 the 60's variety. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
Modern wind turbines do not use such stacks.
PS. The attempt managed by the States of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenberg to reverse the wind turbines and prevent the Russian high pressure-induced icy cold front from crossing the border ended in failure. The turbines were simply not strong enough, and the icy Siberian winds continued their march. The general population was outraged, and blamed the government and environmentalists for not developing enough wind turbines to get the job done. They cited the extra costs of icebreakers on the Elbe as an example of how wind can avoid costs which the politicians seem unaware, but which society must bear. FC Schalke fans, proudly wearing their Gazprom Trikots, demanded that wind turbines be erected on the roof of the Stadion to prevent the frigid winds from freezing their Veltins. Some scientists reported that the experiment was not only a failure, but slowed down the earth's rotation enough to actually accelerate the intrusion of the icy winds. The Frauenhofer Institute for Wind Reversal dismissed the claims as "unscientific poppycock," although the Stop Earth's Revolution Party, or Syrup dismissed Frauenhofer as "unscientific poppycock."
The general population was outraged, and blamed the government and environmentalists for not developing enough wind turbines to get the job done. They cited the extra costs of icebreakers on the Elbe as an example of how wind can avoid costs which the politicians seem unaware, but which society must bear.
FC Schalke fans, proudly wearing their Gazprom Trikots, demanded that wind turbines be erected on the roof of the Stadion to prevent the frigid winds from freezing their Veltins.
Some scientists reported that the experiment was not only a failure, but slowed down the earth's rotation enough to actually accelerate the intrusion of the icy winds. The Frauenhofer Institute for Wind Reversal dismissed the claims as "unscientific poppycock," although the Stop Earth's Revolution Party, or Syrup dismissed Frauenhofer as "unscientific poppycock."
BILD noted rich Germans may have decreased the efficiency of the wind turbines by their habit of stealing the copper cabling to wire their vacation homes in non-windy areas. UBS will not release the names of those accumulating copper. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
