The coal-fired power stations are allowed again at full power start running to relieve the gas-fired power plants. Because using gas to generate electricity is “actually a shame”, says Minister Rob Jetten (D66) for Climate and Energy. The gas is badly needed for storage for next winter, now that Russia is cutting off the gas supply.
Jetten cannot yet say what the measure will yield. Energy expert Lucia van Geuns of the Hague Center for Strategic Studies estimates 2 to 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas on an annual basis. “If we top up every week what is technically possible, the storage can be filled to 80 percent. I hope we get to 90 or 95 percent.”
Whether it’s enough depends on winter temperatures and President Putin’s behavior. Van Geuns takes into account that after the pinch off Germany the Russian president comes up with next steps. “Even long-term contracts are no longer being respected. For a technical reason, but it is probably strategic. The fact that 60 percent less flows through Nordstream 1 now affects not only Germany, but also Central Europe and even Italy.”
Legal framework
Increasing the coal firing, in order to lower the gas-fired power stations, is not a matter of pressing a few buttons. Iris Olivier of Uniper, owner of one of the coal-fired power stations, says she is surprised by the decision.
“This has not been agreed with us. We are subject to a legal framework for burning coal. This must be amended. After that, it must be arranged that we may emit more CO2, because there is an Urgenda judgment. And then we have to We are also going to buy extra coal, which will take weeks.”
stoke
Coal-fired power stations emit much more CO2 than gas-fired power stations. As it continues to heat up, it seems that ‘energy’ now has more weight in Jette’s portfolio than ‘climate’. Yet it looks like, says Jetten, that the CO2 emissions will not exceed the limit that the judge imposed on the cabinet with the Urgenda judgment. Because of the high gas prices, companies and households have already significantly reduced their energy consumption.
Nevertheless, environmental organization Greenpeace is disappointed with the decision to run the coal-fired power stations again at full capacity. Spokesperson Faiza Oulahsen: “Measures could have been taken since the beginning of the war to save gas. All we heard was that the thermostat had to be lowered.” According to Greenpeace, more fundamental measures need to be taken. “Should we use ten percent of our gas in greenhouses, where we grow flowers for the rest of the world?”
Marjan Minnesma of climate organization Urgenda thinks Jetten’s decision in the short term is “very bad for the climate”. But she also sees opportunities. The owners of the coal-fired power stations no longer need to be compensated by the cabinet now that they are allowed to run at full capacity again.
“If the money that is released as a result is properly used for structural energy savings, then it will really be useful later on,” says Minnesma. She says “with a bleeding heart” she accepts the decision to run the coal-fired power stations at full capacity again. “Putin must in no way get the idea that we want to drop Ukraine. We really have to do everything we can to get through it together.”
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