“Natural gas is an essential bridging technology for the basic supply of the industrial nation Germany,” said Wolfgang Große Entrup, General Manager of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI). “If the expansion of renewables is slow, the exit from coal and nuclear energy makes it necessary to move into new gas-fired power plants. Otherwise the lights will go out in the industry. “
For the transformation of industry and energy supply “we have to do more than push the button”. Rather, the “complex process must be designed intelligently,” said Große Entrup. The European Commission was therefore right to include natural gas in its taxonomy proposal.
According to the EU Commission’s plans, investments in gas and nuclear power plants are to be classified as climate-friendly under certain conditions. This emerges from a draft of a legal act by the Brussels authority, which became public on New Year’s Day shortly after it was sent to the EU member states.
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Specifically, the proposal of the EU Commission provides that planned investments in new nuclear power plants, especially in France, can be classified as “green” if the plants meet the latest technical standards and a specific plan for the operation of a disposal plant for high-level radioactive waste is available at the latest Will be presented in 2050.
BDEW: Investments in hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants are imperative
Investments in new gas-fired power plants should also be able to be classified as green temporarily, especially at Germany’s request. For example, it should be relevant how high the emission of greenhouse gases is. For plants that are approved after December 31, 2030, according to the proposal, only up to 100 grams of so-called CO2 equivalents per kilowatt hour of energy would be allowed – calculated over the life cycle.
In a modern power plant that is operated with natural gas, this value is around 350 grams. The value of “up to 100 grams” can only be achieved if power plants are only initially operated with natural gas, but later with green hydrogen, for example or biogas.
The energy sector is also positive about the Commission’s plans. “Investments in hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants are imperative for the transition to a completely climate-neutral energy supply in the European Union,” said Kerstin Andreae, General Manager of the German Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW).
“In order to ensure security of supply, we still need natural gas and permanent gas-fired power plants for a secure, controllable performance as a partner to renewable energies. But the perspective is clear: the future lies with green hydrogen. In the medium and long term, gas-fired power plants can run on hydrogen and thus be climate-neutral, ”added Andreae. They would have to be planned today so that they could use hydrogen as an energy source in the future.
Andreae referred to the monitoring report of the Federal Ministry of Economics on security of supply. The report assumes that if coal is phased out by 2038 in Germany alone, combined heat and power (CHP) plants with a total output of 15 gigawatts (GW) based on gas would have to be built in order to ensure security of supply to guarantee electricity and heat and to offset the phase-out from coal and nuclear energy.
“In addition to these systems, which supply heat as well as electricity, additional gas-fired power plant capacities will be required by 2030 if the phase-out of coal is brought forward in Germany,” said Andreae.
The German Energy Agency (Dena) also considers the Commission’s proposals with a view to the classification of natural gas to be sensible: “The energy transition in Germany in particular will only work if there are also investments, for example in gas-fired power plants, for a transition phase under certain conditions . The EU Commission takes this into account with its draft, ”Dena boss Andreas Kuhlmann told Handelsblatt. “Of course this is not the perfect solution, but I also understand the Commission’s decision. We will have to make compromises in Europe if the energy transition and climate protection are to succeed and at the same time serve as a global role model, ”he added.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) is critical of the EU Commission’s proposal. “The EU Commission’s proposals dilute the good label for sustainability,” said Habeck. It is wrong to label nuclear energy of all things as sustainable. “In any case, it is questionable whether this greenwashing will even find acceptance on the financial market.”
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) criticized the EU Commission’s plans for nuclear power as “absolutely wrong”. Nuclear energy is “neither green nor sustainable, but highly risky,” tweeted the Green parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge.
While the Green politicians are cautious about the classification of natural gas, climate protection organizations go much further in their criticism. They consider the classification of nuclear energy and fossil gas proposed by the EU Commission to be equally wrong. “Obviously, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz advocated the inclusion of fossil gas in the taxonomy and in return supported the French desire to include dangerous nuclear power,” said a message from Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH). “Labeling nuclear power and natural gas as sustainable removes any credibility from the taxonomy. With his approval, Olaf Scholz is also risking the climate policy reputation of the federal government, ”said DUH managing director Sascha Müller-Kraenner. “Close your eyes and through, that seems to be the motto of the EU Commission for nuclear power and natural gas,” said Matthias Kopp from WWF.
Implementation of the plans can hardly be prevented
The Commission said over the weekend that the taxonomy lists the types of energy production that enabled Member States to move from their very different starting positions towards the common goal of climate neutrality. Therefore, under certain conditions, solutions could also be useful that appeared less “green” at first glance.
“Investing in such solutions can also help to accelerate the necessary change from energy sources with higher emissions to those with lower emissions,” the commission said. From this point of view, natural gas and nuclear energy could also play a role on the way to a future based predominantly on renewable energies. They could help facilitate the transition to low-carbon, and therefore more climate-friendly, energy systems.
The EU member states now have until January 12 to comment on the draft. Its implementation can only be prevented if at least 20 EU countries come together, representing at least 65 percent of the total population of the EU, or at least 353 members of the EU Parliament. This is considered unlikely since, besides Germany, only countries such as Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark and Portugal are clearly against taking up nuclear power.
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