Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had proposed keeping the two southern German power plants Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim operational until mid-April in the event of bottlenecks. Actually, all German nuclear power plants should finally go offline at the end of the year.
Scholz also confirmed that the construction of liquid gas terminals on the north German coast. “In January next year, the first of these new terminals will start operations, pipeline connections will be expanded and set up, and by the end of next year we will probably have import possibilities in Wilhelmshaven, in Stade, in Brunsbüttel, in Lubmin and will then be able to , to import all the gas we need – independently of Russia.”
The federal government took precautions at an early stage to become independent of Russian gas. “We’ll probably get through this winter.” The gas storage tanks are 85 percent full, Scholz confirmed. The government will take further measures to bring prices down again.
At the same time he said that the import of LNG gas will not change anything about the necessary and rapid energy transition. “Hydrogen is the gas of the future, we will trigger a big boom.” For the expansion of renewable energies, the traffic light government will pass all the necessary laws in 2022, for example to accelerate planning.