As the German government avoids a self-imposed energy crisis, in the coming winter months when sales of cheap and reliable wood burners rise in Europe, citizens are taking matters into their own hands to keep warm.
After years of warnings from abroad – at least from US President Donald Trump – not to rely on fighting Russia for most of its domestic energy, the hammer fell on Germany when Russia shut down its gas supplies.
As the red-led “traffic light” coalition government is paralyzed by divisions between environmental greens and pro-business yellows, many Germans are taking matters into their own hands by returning to traditional decentralized heat sources.
But as the availability of a viable energy source for most rural communities was dwindling, the new supply of stoves and firewood to supply them could not keep up with demand.
A spokesperson for the German heater installers’ association said demand for wood stoves in Germany had actually “exploded” after Russia invaded Ukraine. In more comments it says Frankfurter GeneralThe head of the Federal Firewood Producers Association said there was also a similar increase in firewood purchases.
The demand for wood burning equipment is so high that some have a one-year waiting period and no hope of supply this winter. Although wood burners are made in Germany, there is a shortage of individual components and materials, including parts sourced from communist China.
The spokesperson said that the stove shortage has spread to Europe.
The demand for firewood has been so great in recent months that it has almost run out in Germany. How F The article states that there is no real shortage of wood in Germany, but that air-drying wood suitable for house burning naturally takes two years. This process could be accelerated by forced wind, but it uses increasingly expensive electricity to run fans and drive prices up – and there still aren’t enough businesses doing this to keep up with demand.
Gerd Müller, spokesperson for the Firewood Producers Association, said of the shortage: “Dry firewood is nearly impossible to find this year.” The report says the price of firewood to burn bulk pellets used in automatic burners doubles in one year. But it’s even cheaper than burning natural gas, whose price has soared due to Russia’s war with Ukraine and the lack of foresight and contingency planning by governments that rely on such resources.
The news that sales of wood burners and dried wood products have soared to the point where the market is shrinking with demand may cause alarm among environmentalists leading Germany and the rest of the European Union.
Simple home stoves have been on the radar of green activists for years, and some governments are even trying to ban or rigidly restrict them, forcing citizens to stay with rising energy prices due to government incompetence and global events.
Green fail: Russia’s dependence on gas, Germany now launches coal-fired power plants https://t.co/ojbQAd6eeI
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) 20 June 2022
In the UK, pursuing an aggressive statist green political agenda under the banner of the right, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s nominally Conservative government is seeking to outlaw house burning altogether.
As reported, homeowners can no longer buy valuables like coal or raw wood that the government says are harmful to the environment.
Although burning wet wood is certainly not as good as burning dry wood, it may be all that’s available, with the prospect of gas and electricity being rationed for the coming winter, as Germany has shown in the midst of an energy shock. The UK has also banned the sale of stoves that do not comply with strict emissions regulations. Daily Telegram Earlier this year, it was reported that the numbers the government used to justify the bans may be inaccurate, and therefore stoves may be less polluting than claimed.
Similar measures are being taken in the Republic of Ireland, where the government has sought to ban the burning of peat, a traditional fossil fuel unique to the region that has warmed rural Irish homes for centuries. Amid Europe-wide fuel shortages, this period may be noticeable, but less noticeable than Germany’s decision to aggressively shut down the huge energy potential of its remaining nuclear power plants while cutting off Russia’s natural gas supply.
Boris denounces “bias” against “green agenda” and will not cancel energy taxes https://t.co/bfJaAKQtmK
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) 23 April 2022
Source: Breitbart
