I love the word Schadenfreude - so perfect. From InfoGalactic:
Schadenfreude — is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. This word is taken from German and literally means "harm-joy". It is the feeling of joy or pleasure when one sees another fail or suffer misfortune.
From Balkan Green Energy News:
Wind farm in Germany is being dismantled to expand coal mine
A wind farm in Germany is being dismantled to expand the Garzweiler lignite mine. One of eight turbines installed at the location in 2001 has already been removed. Nevertheless, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia said it would phase out coal by 2030, as did RWE, the company that owns the mine.
The turbines were in operation since 2001, and government subsidies have expired. Energiekontor and wpd, which is also active in the Balkans, operate the wind farm.
Please note the words "government subsidies' in that last paragraph. Since the government has very few actual sources of income (rental of federal lands, etc...), these subsidies are paid for by the taxpayers. The wind farms are not economically viable unless We The People kick in enough to make them worth developing. Wind and solar are not baseload - the energy is not 100% dependable and for ever megawatt of generation capacity that a wind turbine has, there is another megawatt of natural gas turbine running on hot-standby so it can take over when the wind dies. They don't tell you that when they tell you the talking points.
The line about "phase out coal" is a sop to the environmentalists. When reality comes knocking, that proposal will be slid under a stack of other papers and lost.
As for coal - it seems popular in England too - from the Beeb:
First UK coal mine in decades approved despite climate concerns
Michael Gove has approved the first new UK coal mine in 30 years despite concern about its climate impacts among Conservative MPs and experts.
The proposed mine in Cumbria would dig up coking coal for steel production in the UK and across the world.
Critics say the mine would undermine climate targets and demand for coking coal is declining.
But supporters claim the mine, near Whitehaven, will create jobs and reduce the need to import coal.
Beats depending on the Russians for cheap energy. Putting all their eggs in one basket. President Trump famously tried to warn them back in September, 2018 and they smirked while he was talking.
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