The Political Page, T+361 -- January 17, 2018

I'm preaching to the choir -- the faux environmentalists certainly don't read this blog and won't read the link below -- but this is an incredibly good write-up regarding Germany's energy policy. Absolutely kaput. From the link:

Irregular and unpredictable wind and solar power is increasingly becoming a problem for Germany’s power grid. Utility company Tennet TSO spent almost a billion euros last year on emergency interventions to stabilize the national grid.

That’s what the company announced earlier this week. The costs were thus about 50% higher than in 2016 (660 million euros) and around forty percent higher than in 2015 (710 million). Tennet is responsible for the electricity supply in an area that extends from Schleswig-Holstein in the north to Bavaria in the south of Germany and accounts for around forty percent of Germany’s total area. In particular, Tennet is responsible for important north-south transmission routes.

The reason for the increase in emergency interventions is the rising number of solar projects and wind turbines in Germany. The share of renewable energy increased from 29 to 33 percent of the electricity supply last year. Wind and solar power are irregular and often unpredictable. This makes the network increasingly unstable.

And then this from a reader regarding ISO New England (here in the US), well known for its huge commitment to renewable energy:

• At 1:38 PM, EST, solar is producing 0% and wind .12 %.Say again, wind is producing POINT 12 per cent of the entire New England grid in the middle of January.