Europe has survived 3 energy shocks in 4 years. The only way out is to stop buying power from its enemies | Fortune
https://fortune.com/2026/03/25/europe-3-energy-shocks-in-4-years-what-to-do-next/
Exactly, don’t buy from the usa, our once allie has shown open hostility.
- More nuclear power plants
- more renevables
- more public transport and evs
Do you kbow where Europe get it’s uranium to power these nuclear power plants from? No? Let me tell you: We import it from countries like Kazakhstan, Niger a bit from Canada. France, one of the biggest nuclear powered countries imports it’s uranium from Russia. This is exactly the same as with oil and gas. So tell me: How do nuclear power plants help us, if we have to import the fuel?
Do you know what are the resources we have in Europe: Wind, water and sun. To be fair, we have cole too, but this is one of the dirtiest ways to produce energie.
The only way out are renewable energies.
I know I know.
But fuel is small money factor in comparison to importing lng to gas power plants.
And who would those be? Renewable energy independence is the only way.
The technology is there. We need solar, wind, batteries, hydro-storage and nuclear, which is hold back by fear and costs driven by bureaucracy. What we lack is political capital and supranational coordination. We need to scale up production and learn from the Chinese. The demand for batteries is there.
I feel like it should have been clear to everyone since at least 9/11 and the aftermath but no one in leadership has made the obvious case that renewables are great for national security and not just the environment. Really shameful loss for humanity.
I was of the opinion that after 9/11, if the USA was actually interested in security, we would have invested in alternative energy.
Instead we invested in death and oil. Like always.
So there’s no need for subsidies money because the epic capitalism Invisible hand private market “just needs permission to go green”? This might be one of the dumbest “conclusions” to an article I’ve read in a while. I hope this entire thing was written by AI.
To be fair, the permitting and environmental impact process is crazy and is really holding back deployment. If the government gets out of the way of renewable projects the growth would increase massively.
Some of the process might be necessary. However, it should be the government’s burden to bear, not the applicants’. The process should be as straightforward and simple as possible on the applicant end.
Exactly, that’s how it should be but it isn’t. Wind power has to do an environmental assessment on birds when it’s only 1/6000 deaths. Offshore wind needs to show effect of the noise on marine wildlife when fossil fuels and farminc poison the water.
Here’s a UK example, maybe unfair to use UK as an example but this is how it is for one of the largest wind producers in Europe.
Mandatory almost always
- Planning Statement
- Site Layout Plans and Drawings
- Environmental Statement (EIA) [almost always required at this scale]
- Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) [politically critical]
- Ornithology Report [required if any bird sensitivity; very often triggered]
- Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA)
- Noise Impact Assessment (ETSU-R-97)
- Transport Assessment
- Grid Connection Offer / Electrical Layout
Conditionally required
- Design and Access Statement [required in England for most major developments]
- Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) [if near/impacting SAC/SPA/Ramsar sites]
- Shadow Flicker Assessment [if residential receptors within ~10 rotor diameters]
- Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) [often required pre-construction condition; sometimes submitted upfront]
- Peat Management Plan [if peat soils present; critical in Scotland/uplands]
- Heritage Impact Assessment [if within setting of listed buildings / conservation areas]
- Archaeological Survey Report [if potential below-ground remains]
- Flood Risk Assessment [if in flood zones or drainage impact possible]
- Hydrology and Hydrogeology Report [if affecting watercourses, groundwater, or peat]
- Aviation Impact Assessment [if within radar/airspace consultation zones]
- Socioeconomic Impact Assessment [if material local economic effects claimed]
- Community Consultation Report [mandatory for DNS/major schemes in some jurisdictions; strongly expected]
- Decommissioning Plan [often secured via planning condition but sometimes included upfront]
But it can also be blocked by these:
- Local Planning Authority (LPA) [primary decision-maker; can refuse planning permission]
- Secretary of State / Planning Inspectorate [can overturn or refuse on appeal or call-in]
- Statutory Nature Bodies (e.g. Natural England, NatureScot, NRW) [can object on ecology/HRA grounds]
- Local Community / Parish Councils [political pressure; can trigger refusal]
- Environmental NGOs (e.g. RSPB, Wildlife Trusts) [strong objections, especially on birds/bats]
- Ministry of Defence (MOD) [radar / aviation objections]
- Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) / NATS [airspace / radar interference]
- National Grid ESO / Distribution Network Operator (DNO) [can delay or deny viable grid connection]
- Historic England / Cadw / Historic Environment Scotland [heritage objections]
- Environment Agency / SEPA / NRW [flood risk, hydrology, pollution concerns]
- Highways Authority [can block due to abnormal load transport constraints]
- Landowners / Rights Holders [access, cable routes, lease issues]
- Aviation Stakeholders (airports, heliports) [radar / flight path conflicts]
- Public Inquiry (Inspector) [can recommend refusal after appeal]
- Legal Challenges (Judicial Review) [can quash approval post-consent]
Needless to say, spending millions on reports and assessments when it can be blocked anyway by some rando NIMBYs sucks. Then there’s also the fact that the UK grid needs tooooons of investment just to accommodate these new developments.
So all of these reports are not really an issue when you’re making a massive power plant where the price of the plant dominates the cost. The process makes a bit of sense for large scale installations but the amount of work you need to put in for a modest 20MW wind farm in absolutely bonkers.
So yeah, if the government would get out of the way the whole process is a piece of cake and we can have full grid saturation incredibly fast.
We fucking did stop buying from Russia. That caused the previous shock.What else do you want?
Start buying more solar panels and batteries instead of oil and gas. Even if China (or whoever else you’re buying from) goes to shit at some point, those things will last you decades while you figure out what to do next. Fossil fuels can only be used once and you can’t even stuff a single year’s worth of them into reserves.
EU is alredy on the forefront of moving into renewables - almost half of electricity is from green sources. You can’t speed up the transition to be any faster.
We shifted to importing a bunch of LNG I think. It just takes time to build up new infrastructure
No, we stopped importing oil and coal completely. And we reduced LNG imports to absolute minimum.
Stop buying solar panels anf wind turbines from China, then? I‘m afraid things really aren‘t that simple but I agree we need a long term plan yesterday.
You seem to be conflating energy with energy generation/conversion equipment, one of these is a consumable they are not the same
You seem to think there is absolutely no reliance on China by buying and relying on their tech. Or that it doesn‘t fuel their next invasion all the same. It does.
Besides, if you think buying turbines, panels and storage systems from China in 2026 is a one and done deal you‘re mistaken. They know how they work. They can shut them off if we sanction them. And they will give us many reasons to sanction them sooner rather than later.
And yet I still think we should buy them because we simply are out of alternatives. I also feel confident we can eventually turn them on again if they press the kill switch. And on top of that we will re-develop a domestic renewable energy industry that will make us much more independent.
But it will be painful. We will supply our enemy with money for their next war until then. I have no illusions about that.
When’s the last time China invaded. Next invasion lol
I see two options for EU: either stop being hostile and make partners, or revert to primitive communism.
Go suck Putin’s cock, ruski
EU isn’t the one being hostile, tho?
Not hostile to russia but hostile to Iran
Fair enough. I think more EU countries should take the Spain route of Iran relations.
Well, hostile not in a directly violent way, but they act stupid, arrogant, and aggressive.
Do you have a favourite country that doesn’t act like that?
Nope, I do not have a favorite country at all. Unfortunately, we live in a world where might makes right. The problem with the EU is that it lacks the any strength to play this game but tries hard.
Yup, because we have corrupted governments, who decide to make deals with Russia, who dont see russian propaganda, who buys 3x more expensive military equipment from usa (Poland)…
Can you maybe name some Russian propaganda examples that haven’t turned out to be true yet?
- Covid vaccines cause infertility
- They pretend that they are not responsible for Katyn massacre
- Coal mining is cheap in Poland
- The evs cause more environmental impact than ice
- a lot of bullshit about Ukraine
And others
You watched way too much Russian propaganda. What are you even doing here? You are supposed to watch Russian TV
