‘Green’ Germany Has Become Brown

The key word in Germany these days is “Dunkelflaute”: It means that no wind blows, no sun shines, and therefore the wind turbines and solar panels are producing no electricity. As a consequence, electricity prices have skyrocketed to €800/MWh, up from €60-80 last week. Firms that buy electricity daily on the market are especially hit. To compensate for the “flaute,” or “dead calm,” there are gas and coal plants, but gas is also expensive and therefore coal plants are running like mad, allegedly Germany wanted to become green and has become brown.