Energiewende : Our dear German friends are starting to seriously break our balls(2)

To complete the previous blog:

https://vivrelarecherche.blogspot.com/2019/08/energiewende-nos-chers-amis-allemands.html

And to give a little insight into the Franco-German atmosphere in energy policy:

About Fessenheim:

12 January 2015, letter from Barbara Hendricks, German Minister of the Environment, to Ségolène Royal:

"Dear Colleague, In 2014, on the sidelines of the informal environmental summit in Milan, we talked among other things about the Fessenheim nuclear power plant. I therefore welcome the fact that President Hollande has once again confirmed the decision to close Fessenheim. In this context, and in connection with my letter of September 15, 2014, please inform me of the timetable and procedures you intend to follow for the Fessenheim stop.

As you know, the people living in the border areas are very concerned about the security of the plant. I urge you to take these concerns into account when weighing the pros and cons and in your decisions, and to foresee the Fessenheim shutdown at the nearest possible time. I am of course aware that in this area, the decision is ultimately France's sovereign responsibility. But you certainly won't mind me fighting for the demands of the people who live near the Fessenheim power plant.

Comment: A bit threatening, no!

04/03/2016 , the same Barbara Hendricks: "The French nuclear power plant in Fessenheim, close to the border with Germany, is "too old" and "should be closed as soon as possible," a spokesman for the German minister said on Friday. Barbara Hendricks.  "For us it is very clear that Fessenheim is very old, too old to be still active," the spokesman said, when asked at a regular government press briefing. "The minister is calling for (the plant) to be closed as much as possible."  "Obviously, such an older reactor has a lot of technical problems," he said, and "for us reactors this old pose a security risk." He referred to "the concerns of the inhabitants of the border regions ".

Comment: lies and  lies! In France, nuclear power plants are maintained and regularly modernized. If Fessenheim is closed, it is by a purely political decision, the Nuclear Security Authority having deemed it good for the service!

Fessenheim and Cattenom, or when Nicolas Hulot defended French nuclear power and stuck with the Germans.

"After a two-year shutdown for control, reactor 2 at the Fessenheim nuclear power plant in Upper Rhine is due to restart on Saturday 31 March. This is expected to last only a few months since the government has promised to close the Alsatian power plant at the end of 2018, when the EPR in Flamanville (Manche) has started.

This closure is also an issue for France's European neighbours, such as Germany. Nicolas Hulot, the Minister of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, met his German counterpart, Svenja Schulze, this week and for the first time. During the meeting, the German Minister of Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety recalled that her country's demands had not changed on this issue.

 "I have obviously expressed the concerns of the German people," said Svenja Schulze, "and that is why I really welcome the fact that we are moving towards a quick stop at the Fessenheim power plant."

"Of course I also talked about the Cattenom power plant [in Moselle] and our position that there should be no extra time," said the German minister. We agreed that the topics we are discussing here are also very important for the German population at the border.

Nicolas Hulot's response: the government will close the Fessenheim plant as soon as the EPR starts, either at the end of 2018 or in 2019. On the other hand, for Cattenom, he recalled that EDF was starting maintenance work, in order to continue its production for another 10 years.

The French Minister of Ecological and Solidarity Transition wanted to give the best welcome to his newly appointed counterpart, to show that they also had common ground. "No one has a lesson to teach themselves," said Nicolas Hulot. Our two countries are in unparalleled energy transitions, at least historical, with parameters, constraints, which are not always the same - to say the least - but at least with ambitions that are common

Several German politicians have regularly expressed concern about the safety of some French power plants near the border, in particular the one in Fessenheim, Upper Rhine, which is due to close soon, and that Cattenom (Moselle). The two countries will also continue their discussions in the autumn on the introduction of a carbon floor price, which still lacks a common position."

Comment: yes, our dear German friends are in a much better hurry to shut down our nuclear power plants than to introduce a real carbon tax. It's criminal for pollution and for the fight against climate change!

The obscure role of OFATE (Franco-German Office for Energy Transition)

In the oral question, Senator Anne-Claire Loisier asked what was the merits of the existence of a Franco-German renewable energy lobbyists' office established within the Ministry of Ecology, and named the Franco-German Office for the Energy Transition (OFATE). This office was created by the French and German governments in 2006 with offices in the Ministries of Ecology in Paris and Berlin, and its steering committee consists mainly of renewable energy promoters.

« Anne-Catherine Loisier draws the attention of the Minister of State, Minister of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, to the representation of wind companies in the Franco-German Office for Energy Transition (OFATE).

This body is supposed to coordinate Franco-German policies. To this end, it maintains its offices in the ministry's own premises and is funded by more than a third of the department.  Its steering committee includes the four Franco-German EnR unions and many of the other members have special interests in the sector.  It would appear, therefore, that the wind "lobby" is funded by the department itself.

Moreover, the Franco-German report AGORA IDDRI ("Energywende and energy transition by 2030") states that "[...] if nuclear capabilities are removed from the French mix, the competitiveness of coal-fired power plants maintained in the system in Germany is improved. Germany would therefore have a doubly interest in France strengthening its wind energy production capacity because it has many companies in this sector and the decline in French nuclear capacity would make it more competitive coal-fired power plants and thus their maintenance in Germany.  It therefore asks him for his analysis on these facts in relation to France's energy policy interests. »

Comment: Anne-Claire Loisier is a Senator from the Gold Coast, Centrist Union group. Fortunately, in the old world, there are a few elected officials who do their job!

Here, for a change, the Belgian nuclear power plants

Le Monde, 13 January 2016: "The Minister of the Environment of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia, Johannes Remmel, is asking the European Commission to check the safety rules in force in Belgium. In Luxembourg, the Secretary of State for Sustainable Development, Camille Gira, also expressed concern and called for clarification on the situation in Tihange. German officials had previously called for the closure of the unit, located 70 kilometres from the town of Aachen, after microcracks were discovered on the steel tanks of several Belgian reactors..

The government of the German regional state of Rhineland-Palatinate decided on Tuesday to join a complaint by Greenpeace and Benegora, a Belgian-Dutch consultation platform in the Antwerp region, against extending the life of the power plants Tihange 1 and Doel 1 and 2. Rhineland-Palatinate calls for emergency shutdown of these facilities to protect the population. »

Comment : Tihange 1: 962 MWe and Doel 1 and 2 have been extended until 2025 by the Belgian government... with the support of the Netherlands. Well, well....

Conclusion (Huffington Post Blog, 09/25/2017, commenting on a report by France Energy on Energywende):

"In the light of the facts, the increase in intermittent electricity production (wind and photovoltaic) in place of nuclear power has only reinforced the role of coal and gas, the only energies capable of compensating for the variability of wind and sun, and  for lack of viable storage method! Energy efficiency gains were also largely overestimated in relation to the actual behaviour of the population and industry.

Germany has once again acted as a  clandestine passenger of European integration, using the solidarity and stupidity of its partners to its own benefit. The guaranteed supply of French and Austrian electricity has enabled German electricity grids to offset the technical effects of the "fatal" energy of its wind turbines and solar panels unable to keep up with the real needs of consumption.

In short, Germany is flooding markets with electricity when no one needs it and pumps its neighbors when the climate and the production is capricious!

Well, nothing better to add !