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German Energy Policies (Directly/Indirectly) Lead to the Collapse of Norway's Government.
From Bloomberg:
Why Norway’s Political Crisis Is a European Energy Problem
It may sound counterintuitive, but to grasp the government crisis rocking Norway, it helps to speak German. Because, putting aside local idiosyncrasies and political-party jockeying, it can’t be understood without knowing two Teutonic words that are today crucial in European politics and business: energiewende and dunkelflaute.
As European Union leaders gather for a “retreat” of informal discussions Monday at the Palais d'Egmont, in Brussels, they should pay attention to the upheaval in the continent’s north — and the two German words.
It’s not about Nordic politics: At risk is the 30-year-long trend of integration and liberalization of the European electricity market.
Energiewende is the German version of the energy transition championed by former Chancellor Angela Merkel: shutting down nuclear power stations and embracing wind and solar electricity. All were supported by successive right- and left-wing governments with generous subsidies. Dunkelflaute is a period of windless and cloudy weather that reduces renewable production...
...In Norway, energiewende and dunkelflaute have collided, pushing up local electricity prices as the country exports a growing amount of power via cross-border cables. Average wholesale power prices in 2023-2024 were more than 50% higher in southern Norway than in the 2010-2020 period. The problem reached its zenith last week when Oslo debated whether to adopt new EU rules, known as the fourth clean-energy package, key to advancing the rollout of renewables.1 On Thursday, the euro-skeptic Center Party denied its support to the measures and abandoned the coalition government that’s ruled the country for three-and-a-half years, setting off the leadership spiral. The center-left Labour Party will now go it alone, in the party’s first minority government in 25 years, ahead of elections set for Sept. 8....
As European Union leaders gather for a “retreat” of informal discussions Monday at the Palais d'Egmont, in Brussels, they should pay attention to the upheaval in the continent’s north — and the two German words.
It’s not about Nordic politics: At risk is the 30-year-long trend of integration and liberalization of the European electricity market.
Energiewende is the German version of the energy transition championed by former Chancellor Angela Merkel: shutting down nuclear power stations and embracing wind and solar electricity. All were supported by successive right- and left-wing governments with generous subsidies. Dunkelflaute is a period of windless and cloudy weather that reduces renewable production...
...In Norway, energiewende and dunkelflaute have collided, pushing up local electricity prices as the country exports a growing amount of power via cross-border cables. Average wholesale power prices in 2023-2024 were more than 50% higher in southern Norway than in the 2010-2020 period. The problem reached its zenith last week when Oslo debated whether to adopt new EU rules, known as the fourth clean-energy package, key to advancing the rollout of renewables.1 On Thursday, the euro-skeptic Center Party denied its support to the measures and abandoned the coalition government that’s ruled the country for three-and-a-half years, setting off the leadership spiral. The center-left Labour Party will now go it alone, in the party’s first minority government in 25 years, ahead of elections set for Sept. 8....
Another account is here, which states it more bluntly:
Norwegian finance minister blames EU energy policy for government collapse
Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre is left heading a minority government after coalition partner pulls out over EU market rules it says make it impossible to shield citizens from high electricity prices.
The eurosceptic Centre Party has pulled out of a fractious coalition government over opposition to European energy market rules, leaving prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre to head a minority Labour Party government.
While not an EU member, Norway is subject to a raft of EU regulation in return for single market access as part of the wider European Economic Area (EEA) that also includes Iceland and Switzerland.
Although a major exporter of oil and gas, Norway relies on abundant hydropower for most of its electricity. But as links with the EU electricity market have deepened, the Scandinavian country has seen prices rise, with recent spikes prompting calls to cut power links with the bloc...
...The outgoing minister also pointed the finger at “several countries in the EU” who were relying on exports of Norwegian hydropower after deploying renewable generation capacity that “to a large extent only produces electricity when it is windy or the sun is shining”...
The eurosceptic Centre Party has pulled out of a fractious coalition government over opposition to European energy market rules, leaving prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre to head a minority Labour Party government.
While not an EU member, Norway is subject to a raft of EU regulation in return for single market access as part of the wider European Economic Area (EEA) that also includes Iceland and Switzerland.
Although a major exporter of oil and gas, Norway relies on abundant hydropower for most of its electricity. But as links with the EU electricity market have deepened, the Scandinavian country has seen prices rise, with recent spikes prompting calls to cut power links with the bloc...
...The outgoing minister also pointed the finger at “several countries in the EU” who were relying on exports of Norwegian hydropower after deploying renewable generation capacity that “to a large extent only produces electricity when it is windy or the sun is shining”...
Um...um...um...
We've had people here, wax romantic about all those electric car sales in Norway. We've had Tesla owners remark on how wonderful it is that Norway, a major exporter of oil and gas, runs on hydroelectricity.
Of course, when Norway is charging up all those electric cars, our "friends" in Germany burn coal because, um, they have to... since they shut all their nuclear plants because, because, because, because...
Well why is that?
"Coal is better?"
Call it a case of "Whack a Mole."
Of course, the fall of the Norwegian government is small potatoes when one considers that enthusiasm for electric cars destroyed one of the oldest Democracies in the world, that would be our democracy.
The climate effects of electric cars are dubious at best, as I noted referring to a report from the scientific literature:
A paper addressing the idea that electric cars are "green."
A graphic in that post referring to my grid, the PJM grid:
Figure 6. Consequential life cycle air emission externalities per vehicle in 2019, assuming 10% of the light-duty passenger car fleet in PJM’s service area is replaced with PEVs. “ICEV” denotes a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle, “HEV” denotes a standard gasoline hybrid electric vehicle (NiMH battery), “PHEV20” denotes a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with a battery range of 20 miles (Li-ion battery with NMC111 cathode chemistry), and “BEV300” denotes a battery electric with a battery range of 300 miles (Li-ion battery with NMC622 cathode chemistry). “CC” indicates that battery charge schedules are optimally controlled by PJM to minimize system operation costs, and “UC” indicates that battery charging is uncontrolled (i.e., initiated by the vehicle owner as soon as they complete their daily driving and arrive home. “Production” includes disposal and recycling; “Vehicle Use” includes tailpipe emissions and tire and brake wear).
Cleaning up while Changing Gears: The Role of Battery Design, Fossil Fuel Power Plants, and Vehicle Policy for Reducing Emissions in the Transition to Electric Vehicles Matthew Bruchon, Zihao Lance Chen, and Jeremy Michalek Environmental Science & Technology 2024 58 (8), 3787-3799
Wonderful times we live in; even here, this late, the worship of King Elon has not stopped.
I was kind of ahead of the game, I'm proud, for whatever it's worth, to say. Here's what I said in 2022:
We have people here who still worship the fascist Elon Musk and his slave holding company Tesla, who are always carrying on happily about the industrial installation of Tesla Powerwalls®.
The Number of Tesla Powerwalls Required That Would Address the Current German Dunkleflaute Event.