The German Economics Minister Robert Habeck (2nd from left) in conversation with his fellow ministers Teresa Ribera Rodriguez (Spain), Rob Jetten (Netherlands) and Josef Sikela (Czech Republic).
(Photo: dpa)
Brussels Despite doubts from the European Court of Auditors as to whether reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas supplies is realistic, the European Union is working on exactly that. After a long dispute, the energy ministers passed a joint gas emergency plan on Tuesday. According to this, all member countries should voluntarily save 15 percent of their gas consumption by next March.
In an emergency, the EU Commission should also be able to propose mandatory savings targets, which would then have to be approved by a majority of member states. However, several countries have implemented exceptions to the requirements. Among other things, the islands of Cyprus, Malta and Ireland should not be forced to save gas because they are not connected to the European gas grid.
Hurry is required, because a sudden stop in Russia’s supply is a real danger, as the energy company Gazprom has just impressively recalled. The Russian state-owned company announced this week that it would reduce deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20 percent of capacity from Wednesday.
The energy ministers invoked European solidarity as the best remedy for the gas shortage. With the emergency plan, the EU is sending an important signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens). He is trying to keep gas prices high and thus divide Europe. But Europe cannot be divided.
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On Tuesday evening, however, the top EU auditors expressed doubts about another plan by the European Commission to become independent from Russian energy. In a report, the European Court of Auditors warned that the “RePower EU” strategy could not mobilize enough money to cope with this feat.
The EU Commission estimates that investments of 210 billion euros will be necessary by 2027 to phase out imports of Russian energy. However, only a further 20 billion were made available in total, and the EU Commission has no control over the rest of the money.
In May, the Brussels authorities under Ursula von der Leyen presented the plan called “RePower EU”, which is intended to mobilize as much as 300 billion euros by 2030.
German debate about nuclear power plants
In view of the foreseeable shortcomings in the energy supply of Europe and Germany, the debate in Germany about extending the operating times for the last three active nuclear power plants is accelerating. Wolfgang Niedermark from the Federation of German Industries (BDI) said: “For Germany, consistently practiced European solidarity means providing as much energy as possible from all available sources.”
In Germany, the nuclear power plants Emsland (RWE), Isar 2 (Eon) and Neckarwestheim 2 (EnBW) are still in operation. They are supposed to go offline at the end of 2022. An extension would be possible through the so-called stretching operation. This means that nuclear power plants would no longer operate at full capacity from today. They could then produce less electricity in summer and autumn, but the fuel elements would be consumed more slowly and could continue to supply energy beyond December of this year.
EU ministers agree on gas savings plan
The Bavarian employers are demanding that at least Isar 2 continue to run until the end of the heating period. “If there is a reduction in gas generation in Bavaria, there is a risk of a significant power shortage in the winter months,” said Bertram Brossardt, Managing Director of the Bavarian Business Association (VBW), the Handelsblatt. Renewables cannot yet compensate for the lack of generation capacity from gas-fired power plants.
Klaus Geißdörfer, CEO of the fan manufacturer EBM Papst, believes that short-term stretching of the three reactors is the right thing to do. On the other hand, he is skeptical about longer term extensions. Klaus Schäfer, Chief Technology Officer of the plastics manufacturer Covestro, also calls for the stretching operation. This can prevent additional gas consumption that will result from the power shortage in France, he said.
France is currently having major problems with the operation of its nuclear reactors, which are likely to last into the winter. The electricity produced there is also supplied to Germany.
The EU states have initiated the decision-making process for an emergency plan to curb gas consumption.
(Photo: dpa)
In the government, the FDP is in favor of extending the terms, the SPD is now more open to it. Even among the Greens, resistance is crumbling. A rethink is taking place, said a green member of the Bundestag.
Green partially opened up for longer maturities
The pressure in the coalition, but also from European neighbors on the party is immense. Most recently, requests came from the Netherlands and the EU Commission that Germany should continue to use its nuclear power. In the event of an electricity emergency, a refusal of a longer term is hardly communicable.
The installed capacity of the three remaining nuclear power plants is 4.3 gigawatts (GW), they supply around six percent of the electricity generation in the country. According to a test report from the Ministry of the Environment and Economics, no more electricity would be produced by the stretching operation by the end of March. An added value, however, would be that there would be additional capacity in the system next winter to contribute to security of supply during peak electricity demand.
Technically, stretching would be possible. According to industry circles, there would be enough staff. And security is not seen as a critical element if the system continues to be used for a few months.
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