Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Dummkopfs

I told my buddy, Hans, that I had a great idea for a business. “I am going to start a solar panel installation service in Montana, with the hope that I can expand over the border into Alberta, Canada.” Now Hans is a smart guy, and I figured that I could tap him for some investment capital. Hans looked very skeptical, and so I followed with, “Basically we would be the first players in the Montana solar installation business. The sky is the limit!”

 Hans, who is known for not beating around the bush, replied in one word, “Dummkopf!” He continued, “Edmonton, Alberta has winter basically six months of the year and during it’s three warmest months it rains on about 25% of the days. In Great Falls, Montana there is winter six months of the year, and summer for only three months. Neither of these places has enough sun to provide anything but a bare minimum of solar power. Why in God’s name would you think that solar power could be successful in these areas?” And for emphasis, “Dummkopf!”

Now was my chance to show off. “For your information, Hans, Great Falls, Montana is at the same latitude as Munich, Germany and Edmonton, Alberta is at the same latitude as Berlin, Germany, and the Germans have made the decision to stake both its present and its future electrical needs in renewable energy, including solar.” 

At this point it appeared that Hans was slowly counting to himself, and when he reached “ten,” he slowly but firmly said, “They are dummkopfs! They have been on this ‘Energiewende’ (energy transition) kick now for about 20 years, and thus far have spent close to $200 billion. What do they have to show for all of that money? . . . they have some of the highest energy (electricity) prices in the world!! More than half of its energy is imported, and, meanwhile, Germany is still spending 20 billion euros per year subsidizing renewable energy. Dummkopfs, 20 billion euros!!”

He wasn’t done. “Now Germany gets about 27% of its total energy from renewables which includes wind, hydro-power, biomass, and solar. In 2016 solar power accounted for 6.2-6.9%. Solar panels in Berlin? Dummkopfs! To make this energiewende even more ridiculous, 40% of Germany’s electricity is still coming from coal, which is not exactly a “green” source of power. At the same time Germany is now getting 22.6% of its energy from natural gas, 60% of which is coming from Russia. What if Russia decides to turn off its gas supply spigot? Dummkopfs!”

Hans continued on for another ten minutes, and finally finished laughing at Germany’s vow to be completely free of nuclear power by 2022. Again, “Dummkopfs!”Being of German ancestry I guess that it was okay for Hans to collectively call the Germans, ‘Dummkopfs,’ just as it is okay for me to call the Democratic  California politicians, ‘Dummkopfs’ for following Germany’s master energy plan.

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