Germany to curb gas use, burn more coal in ‘serious’ situation

German coal operation

The so-called climate crisis soon gets pushed aside when an energy crisis bites. Saving the world is for poseurs, saving your citizens from hardship is politics. Renewables don’t even get a mention.
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Germany will curb domestic energy consumption and boost stockpiles, as it ramps up efforts to stem a winter fuel supply crisis, says the Telegraph.

Europe’s biggest economy will increase gas stockpiles and aim to cut down on the use of energy by its dominant industrial sector, economic minister Robert Habeck said in a statement on Sunday.

“Security of supply is currently guaranteed. But the situation is serious,” he added.

“Gas consumption must fall further, and in return more gas must be put into the storage facilities, otherwise things will really get tight in the winter.”

Alarm has grown over the prospect of the continent’s fuel reserves running out after Russia last week cut flows through the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany by 60pc, as part of an escalating pressure campaign by Vladimir Putin.

Prior to the war in Ukraine, Russia supplied Germany with just under a third of its gas.

“The tense situation and the high prices are a direct consequence of Putin’s war of aggression on Ukraine,” Mr Habeck said.

“What’s more, it is obviously Putin’s strategy to make us insecure, to drive up prices, and to divide us. We will not let that happen. We will fight back decisively, precisely and thoughtfully.”

Analysts at Wood Mackenzie, an oil and gas consultancy, have predicted Europe could run out of gas supplies by January if the Kremlin turns off the taps.

The European Union is already pressing ahead with plans to ban the import of seaborne Russian oil, which would leave the continent scrambling to find new sources.

Mr Habeck, a minister for the Greens party, said Germany will be forced to rely more on coal-fired power plants as it tries to weather the current energy crisis.

A bill to allow plants to continue operating will be discussed in the upper house of Germany’s parliament in early July, and is expected to quickly enter law afterwards.

“That means, we have to be that honest, more coal-fired power plants then for a transitional period,” Mr Habeck said.

“That’s bitter, but it’s simply necessary in this situation to reduce gas consumption. We must and we will do everything we can to store as much gas as possible in the summer and fall.”

Full article here.