Germania. Alternative. Cessati i sussidi il biogas fallisce. 40,000 a spasso.
Giuseppe Sandro Mela.
2019-01-11.
«’Biogas is as good as dead».
Realizzare i propri sogni ha un suo costo. Cercare di realizzare le proprie allucinazioni comporta soltanto una dilapidazione che si arresta solo davanti al muro del fallimento.
I liberal socialisti tedeschi si sono invaghiti delle energie alternative ed hanno varato grandiosi piani di sussidi ed interventi statali a favore del settore.
Poi, quando anche il denaro degli altri è finito, il settore fallisce: porta i libri in tribunale.
«In April 2017, Suniva filed for bankruptcy» [Fonte]
«On May 10, 2017, SolarWorld AG filed for bankruptcy citing “ongoing price distortions” and “no longer a positive forecast for the future”. In May 2016, a lawsuits brought by U.S. silicon supplier Hemlock was reported as “threatening the continued existence of the company” with damage claims up to $770 million.»
L’elenco dei fallimenti sarebbe tristemente lungo.
Ma adesso al fotovoltaico si sta aggiungendo il biogas: un bagno di sangue per i Contribuenti.
Senza il delirio per le alternative, la Germania potrebbe dimezzare le tasse.
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«More than 9,000 biogas facilities make Germany the No. 1 player in the renewable energy»
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«But falling prices and dying subsidies are putting the future of this biofuel into question.»
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«German government subsidies will end in 2021, which could mark the end for the entire experiment, but the biogas bubble has already deflated»
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«In 2011, 1,500 new biogas facilities opened on farms across Germany. Last year, it was just 120.»
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«Once upon a time, biogas was the next big thing, promised a key role in Germany’s transition to renewable energy»
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«As nuclear plants have been powered down, biogas has indeed stepped in to fill the gap. Biogas accounts for 8 percent of the country’s renewable energy, powering about 8 million German households. In no other country does biogas play such an important role.»
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«The trouble is that is heavily subsidized by the government»
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«When Berlin was paying 25 cents per kilowatt hour for biogas, farmers rushed to invest»
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«Currently, about 20 percent of Germany’s arable land is used for biogas, with 20 percent used to grow food, and 60 percent for animal fodder»
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«But in the last seven years, almost 20,000 biogas jobs have disappeared, leaving 44,000 employed in the sector.»
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«But there are ecological downsides to the sector, not least because it encourages monocultures. Although corn is the most productive biogas crop, there are strict limits on how much corn farmers can grow»
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«To qualify for the government’s tenders, he would have to upgrade his plant. For many small farmers, that investment is more than they can afford.»
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«he expects half of Germany’s biofuel facilities to disappear after 2021, with considerable loss of flexibility in the energy system»
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«So it could be the end of the harvest for more small biofuel farmers»
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«The future of biofuel now lies in the hands of politicians»
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Lasciamo al Lettore un semplice calcolo: quanto spende in un anno il Governo federale tedesco, che sussidia ai farmer 25 centesimi per ogni kw/h immesso in rete?
Poniamoci alcune domande.
– Senza aiuti di stato il settore delle alternative a biogas è destinato al fallimento. Come rimpiazzerà la Germania l’8% della produzione di energia elettrica che questo comparto produceva?
– La Germania ha indotto a gestire a pascolo il 20% del terreno arabile. È uno sbilanciamento verso la monocultura assai pericoloso. Basterebbe una epidemia di morbo di Johne, di diarrea virale bovina, di mastite streptococcica, oppure di leucosi bovina enzootica e tutto il settore si azzererebbe.
– A margine, i danni sul mercato del latte potrebbero essere enormi.
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Conclusione.
I settori sostenuti da sovvenzioni statali stanno in piedi fino a tanto che vi siano le sovvenzioni.
Cessate queste, si va al fallimento: muoiono le aziende e crepano i sogni sprovvidi.
Rimettere a coltivazioni il 20% dei terreni arabili sarà cosa ben dura. Si dovranno ricollocare gli addetti al biogas e trovare contadini esperti delle coltivazioni allo stato dell’arte. Per non parlare poi degli squilibri indotti nel piano agricolo comunitario.
More than 9,000 biogas facilities make Germany the No. 1 player in the renewable energy. But falling prices and dying subsidies are putting the future of this biofuel into question.
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Seventeen years ago, Thomas Endres was one of the first German farmers to build a biogas plant on his land. Back then, environmentalists thought biogas would be the future of energy.
These days, like many biogas farmers, Endres is thinking about getting out of the business. German government subsidies will end in 2021, which could mark the end for the entire experiment, but the biogas bubble has already deflated. In 2011, 1,500 new biogas facilities opened on farms across Germany. Last year, it was just 120.
Once upon a time, biogas was the next big thing, promised a key role in Germany’s transition to renewable energy. What could be more sustainable than growing your own energy sources?
As nuclear plants have been powered down, biogas has indeed stepped in to fill the gap. Biogas accounts for 8 percent of the country’s renewable energy, powering about 8 million German households. In no other country does biogas play such an important role.
‘Biogas is as good as dead’
The trouble is that is heavily subsidized by the government. When Berlin was paying 25 cents per kilowatt hour for biogas, farmers rushed to invest. The country now has over 9,000 biogas facilities, but the sector has been in crisis since 2014, when subsidies were cut by more than half.
Since last year, the German government no longer automatically subsidizes all players: Instead, biofuel production goes out to tender, with only the best bids winning contracts.
Currently, about 20 percent of Germany’s arable land is used for biogas, with 20 percent used to grow food, and 60 percent for animal fodder. But in the last seven years, almost 20,000 biogas jobs have disappeared, leaving 44,000 employed in the sector.
“Biogas in Germany is as good as dead,” says Jörg Meyer zu Strohe, CEO of PlanET, one of the biggest and oldest biogas plant constructors in Germany. The company now operates almost entirely outside Germany, mostly in France and Belgium.
However, experts still see biofuels as a crucial part of a sustainable energy system. Unlike solar and wind power, it’s dependable and helps even out gaps. The International Energy Agency says biogas could become more important as countries phase out nuclear power.
Environmental downsides
But there are ecological downsides to the sector, not least because it encourages monocultures. Although corn is the most productive biogas crop, there are strict limits on how much corn farmers can grow.
Endres grows a mixed batch of biofuel crops, including 30 percent corn, but also grass, rye and turnips. Manure from cows, chickens and pigs also flows into the process. The heat generated by the stinking fermentation powers seven houses and some public buildings, as well as his own farm facilities.
In spite of his financial difficulties, Endres still believes in biogas. But now he faces a new obstacle: To qualify for the government’s tenders, he would have to upgrade his plant. For many small farmers, that investment is more than they can afford.
So it could be the end of the harvest for more small biofuel farmers. Meyer zu Strohe says he expects half of Germany’s biofuel facilities to disappear after 2021, with considerable loss of flexibility in the energy system.
The future of biofuel now lies in the hands of politicians, who must soon make yet more decisions about the sustainability of the sector. “We just hope they don’t completely let us down,” Endres says.
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