“Gas markets are global” – and tight supplies will reverberate thru markets around the world, raising prices and underlining need for renewable transition.
Russia will cut off the gas to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday in a major escalation in the standoff between Moscow and Europe over energy supplies and the war in Ukraine.
Moscow is making good on a threat to halt gas flows to countries that refuse President Vladimir Putin’s new demand to pay for the fuel in rubles. The European Union has rejected the move in principle but now payment deadlines are starting to fall due, governments across Europe need to decide whether to accept Putin’s terms or lose crucial supplies — and face the prospect of energy rationing.
From an article this January:
Heat pump sales grew 30 percent to 156,000 units last year, according to the Federation of German Heating Industry (BDH). This figure is much higher than sales of gas and oil heating systems, which grew 6 and 2 percent, respectively, Handelsblatt notes. Only biomass heating increased more, with a growth of 33 percent to 72,000 units due mainly to the great demand for pellet solutions. Handelsblatt points to the success of heat pump manufacturer Stiebel Eltron in Lower Saxony, which is aiming to double production capacity by 2026, investing 120 million euros in its expansion and creating 400 new jobs. Many German households have invested in new heat pump systems throughout the pandemic, Stiebel Eltron managing directorNicholas Matten told the newspaper.. “We want to accelerate the growth even more,” Matten said. “We are facing a decade of the heat pump.”The trendwas also visible in 2020, when heat pump sales grew by 40 percent to 120,000 units, according to the BDH.
Oh, well. Two steps forward, one step back.