Coal-fired power stations are allowed to run at full power again to relieve gas-fired power stations. Minister of Climate and Energy Rob Jetten (D66) calls the use of gas for electricity generation ‘actually a disgrace’. Gas is desperately needed to store it for the coming winter, as Russia cuts off the gas supply.
Jetten cannot yet say what the measurement will yield. Energy expert Lucia van Geuns of the Center for Strategic Studies in The Hague estimates between 2 and 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. “If we fill what is technically possible every week, the tank can be filled to 80%. Hopefully we get to 90% or 95%.
Whether that’s enough depends on winter temperatures and President Putin’s behavior. Van Geuns takes into account that after Germany has been squeezed, the next steps will be taken by the Russian president. “Even long-term contracts are no longer respected. For a technical reason, but probably strategically. The fact that there are 60% less streams via Nordstream 1 now affects not only Germany, but also Central Europe and even Italy.”
legal framework
Increasing coal combustion to reduce gas-fired power plants isn’t just a matter of pushing a few buttons. Uniper’s Iris Olivier, owner of one of the coal-fired power stations, said she was surprised by the decision.
“There was no agreement with us. We are subject to a legal framework for burning coal. This must change. After that, it must be arranged that more CO2 is released, because there is an Urgenda stop. There we go. We also get extra coal, which will take weeks.”
to feed
Coal-fired power stations emit much more CO2 than gas-fired power stations. As it gets warmer, ‘energy’ now seems to carry more weight in Jette’s wallet than ‘climate’. Nevertheless, Jetten says that the CO2 emissions may not exceed the limit that the judge had imposed on the office in the Urgenda decision. Due to the high gas prices, companies and households have significantly reduced their energy consumption.
Still, environmental organization Greenpeace was disappointed with its decision to get coal-fired power stations back to full capacity. Spokesperson Faiza Oulahsen said: “Since the beginning of the war, measures could have been taken to save petrol. We only heard that the thermostat had to be lowered.” According to Greenpeace, more basic 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 short-term decision is “very bad for the climate”. But he also sees opportunities. Owners of coal-fired power stations no longer need to be compensated by the cabinet because they are allowed to run at full power again.
“If the resulting money is put to good use for structural energy savings, it will really come in handy later on,” says Minnesma. He says he has “with a bleeding heart” accepted the decision to run coal-fired power stations at full capacity. “Putin must in no way feel that we want to disappoint Ukraine. We really have to do everything we can to get through this together.”
Source: NOS
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