Germany announced new measures to respond to the reduction in the flow of gas sent by Russia through Nordstream, including increasing the level of storage, but also returning to the use of coal to produce electricity.
Stocks are already thinking ahead to the coming winter, after Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, has threatened to drastically cut gas supplies to European countries. Since the beginning of the sanctions against Russia, Russian gas exports to Europe have steadily decreased.
According to the German Economy Ministry, the new measures include a bigger bet on coal-fired power plants, as well as an auction system to incentivize the industry to spend less gas, so it can be stored later, says Reuters.
Russia has already shut off gas to at least 9 European countries. What are the alternatives and scenarios for the total cut?
“To reduce gas consumption, less gas must be used to generate electricity. Coal-fired power plants will have to be used more,” the Economy Ministry said in a statement, quoted by The Guardian. Robert Habeck, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, admitted that resuming production of the most polluting coal plants is “painful, but it is an absolute necessity to reduce gas consumption”. The German politician is a member of the Green Party, which traditionally advocates ending the use of coal to generate electricity, a technology that is a major emitter of CO2.
According to Habeck, the coal-fired plants can add 10 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity in the event of a critical situation in the country’s gas supply. The measure will be presented to the German parliament on July 8.
Reuters also adds that the measures also include 15 billion euros in credit lines for the operator of the German gas market, in order to fill gas storage facilities more quickly, said a government source, who preferred to remain anonymous.
To cope with Moscow’s dependence on gas supplies, Germany has, since the beginning of the war, made an effort to fill up its gas storage facilities, with the aim of phasing out energy imports to Russia. “Gas storage facilities need to be full for the winter. That is the top priority,” Habeck, a member of the Green Party, said, referring to storage level targets of 80% for October and 90% for November.
Source: Observadora
