Just 6.9% of EU’s energy comes from its reliance on wind

EU to spend £292 billion on its green agenda, including wind

And shhhh... Germany’s latest megawatt coal-fired power station celebrates its 6-month birthday

According to the latest data released by the EU Commission’s statistics agency yesterday, the EU is just short of its 2020 target on the percentage of ‘renewable energy’ consumed.

Facts4EU.Org takes a quick look at the vast costs of the EU’s ‘Green Deal’, the performance of ‘new renewables’ so far, and Angela Merkel’s split-atom energy policies.

Over €1 TRILLION EU budget, 30% of which is going on the ‘green agenda’

The EU’s new budget for the ‘Multi-Annual Framework’ (MFF) has been agreed at €1,074.3 billion, and it's quoted at 2018 prices so it's more now. That’s over a TRILLION euros. This does NOT include a further €750 billion euros for what is known as ‘Next Generation EU’ and relates to money to be borrowed for Covid measures. This brings the total EU spend to €1.824 TRILLION euros, or £1.66 TRILLION GBP.

A full 30% of the main EU budget will be dedicated to ‘Climate’, otherwise known as the EU’s ‘European Green Deal’. This means that the EU will be devoting over €322 billion euros (approx £293 billion GBP) to climate change – what used to be called ‘global warming’.

So how’s the EU doing on its green agenda so far?

In 2019, 80.3% of all energy consumed in the EU came from traditional sources – fossil fuels and nuclear. Of the remaining 19.7%, here is how it breaks down.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Percentage of EU energy from ‘renewable sources’

‘New renewables’:
Wind 6.9%
Solar 2.6%
Solid bio-fuels 1.6%
Other (eg waste) 1.8%
TOTAL: 12.8%
‘Old renewables’
Hydro 6.9%

Under 13% of EU’s energy needs come from ‘new renewables’

Hydro-electric power has been around for decades. If we exclude this long-established source from the EU’s figures above, the ‘new technologies’ are currently contributing just 12.8% of the EU’s need for energy.

Germany and coal

Coal is the largest source of electricity in Germany, and the country is the sixth-largest consumer of energy on the planet.

Despite all the fine words from Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel, Germany has continued to build and open coal-fired power stations. The latest of these came online just six months ago, in June 2020 at Datteln, and cost €1.5bn to construct.

This new German coal-powerd plant now supplies 1,100 mega-watts of power to German industry.

Following the Fukujima nuclear incident in 2011, Angela Merkel made one of her infamous precipitate statements. She announced that Germany would be phasing out nuclear power. In the last decade the number of operational nuclear power stations in Germany fell from 17 in 2010 to just seven today.

Greta was not too impressed with the Germans’ new coal-powered plant

The Swedish teenager so beloved of the luvvies and the global establishment, Greta Thunberg, now describes herself in her Twitter profile as a “Climate and environmental activist with Asperger’s”. Asperger’s, as most readers will know, is a condition on the autism spectrum.

Here is what she – or those who help her to run her media operation – said when the new German coal-fired plant opened.

“Today is a shameful day for Europe, as we open up a brand new coal power plant. We have signed up to lead the way to avoid a climate disaster - and yet this the signal we send to the rest of the world? How dare you indeed?”
- Greta Thunberg, 30 May, Twitter

And how's the UK doing?

We took a little look at the UK's use of coal, compared to Germany's. The data comes from the International Energy Agency.

Observations

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[ Sources: EU Commission statistics agency | Greta Thunberg Twitter account | International Energy Agency | Various other energy agencies and publications ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sat 09 Jan 2021

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Reader Comments 8

1. One eyed king , Saturday, January 09, 2021, 08:14:

Facts4eu.org, if you keep generating cojent points, you will end up on the naughty step. They are becoming scared on both sides of the pond and history shows they will go for more power and control, which always leads to dissent and their eventual downfall.

2. Paul Stephen East , Saturday, January 09, 2021, 08:50:

Is this the same green agenda that involves the whole EU parliament and the circus that travels with it, heading to Strasburg and back once a month.

3. One eyed king , Saturday, January 09, 2021, 10:32:

With the french openly gloating at our lack of political leadership regarding their brexit deal, other than tech and services the last part of our industry that still has meat on the bone and scope for massive growth. We have suffered betrayal again. On the plus side we won't have to conscript when it comes time to sort out this mess that is being made before our eyes, no distant generation, us. But first we must suffer more for our apathy. Farage is bought, blair on the rise. Vote them out every opportunity, before dominion says we lost.

4. David Raddings , Saturday, January 09, 2021, 12:10:

The EU insisting on green energy makes for a laugh🤣

5. Alison Minister , Saturday, January 09, 2021, 12:15:

So Germany continues to do whatever it wants but every other eu country has to abide by the rules?

6. Sydney Ashurst , Saturday, January 09, 2021, 17:29:

Sad to say people in Politics have no technical training.
They are fearful of being ousted from power by the liberals and greens if they do not take up the environmental mantra.
The fact that what they propose is not viable never dawns on them.

7. Gary , Sunday, January 10, 2021, 09:19:

Are we still talking about the EU? Why are we in a measuring contest with them?
We should be talking about allies like Trump, not wind!
I thought we'd turned our backs on them for good this New year?
Even bought champagne to mark the occasion.

8. Anne-Marie , Sunday, January 10, 2021, 19:15:

We have huge reserves of coal underneath us, but we aren’t allowed to use it Why is that?

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