| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Europe | |
| Germany's Russian gas crisis sparks coal rush | |
| 2022-09-05 | |
A looming shortage of Russian gas in the wake of the Ukraine war has reignited enthusiasm for this method of heating private homes despite its sooty residue and heavy carbon footprint. Engelke, 46, head of the century-old Berlin business Hans Engelke Energie, says it's brought a bonanza for his family business: "My holidays will have to wait." He and his team are frenziedly taking orders, organising deliveries by truck -- now booked out until October, and getting supplies ready for those who come directly to pick up coal from his warehouse. On a hot summer's day, he weighs and bags loose coal amid the dust and din of his filling machine, then arranges the bags on pallets, awaiting customers. In Berlin, 5-6,000 homes are still heated with coal -- only a fraction of the city's 1.9 million homes, say municipal authorities. Engelke's customers are often elderly people, sometimes entirely dependent on coal and living in old dwellings that have never been renovated. Others are lovers of the "cosy" heat emanating from often ornate old ceramic stoves. But this year, new customers have arrived "en masse", says Engelke, whose medium-sized company has also diversified into wood pellets and fuel oil. "Those who heat with gas but who still have a stove at home now all want to have coal," he said, citing a phenomenon seen throughout Germany as winter approaches. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Germany back to coal. And people wonder why I laugh at the eco-freak greenies. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2022-09-05 17:21 |