On Wednesday last week, the Russian energy company Gazprom reduced its gas supplies through the Nord Stream pipeline by almost 65 percent. Nord Stream is one of the most important pipelines for importing gas to Europe. France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Slovakia have all been hit hard. On Sunday, German authorities announced that they had launched emergency measures. – It is bitter, but we must use more coal-fired power plants in a transitional period to store as much gas as we can, says Minister of Trade and Industry Robert Habeck to Bloomberg. Coal is considered to be the most polluting energy source in use. In Lubmin, Germany receives gas from Russia through the Nord Stream pipeline. Photo: HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / Reuters Meiner Russia presses Europe According to Russian authorities, the reduction in Nord Stream is due to technical challenges, where they do not get access to new equipment due to Western sanctions. Germany, on the other hand, sees the reduction as politically motivated and believes that it depends on increased European support for Ukraine. This week, the heads of state from France, Germany, Italy and Romania were all present in Ukraine to give their support to the country. The gathering was probably the highest profile visit to Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine. On Friday, Ukraine also received formal status as a candidate country for the EU. The heads of state from France, Germany, Italy and Romania were all visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv this week. Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN / Reuters Cakes in stock At the same time, gas flow through Nord Stream has fallen sharply. Despite Norway exporting gas to Europe hard, European countries have had to consume gas stocks this week, according to Bloomberg. This is the first time the storage level went down since April this year. Usually, many countries in Europe use the summer months to stock up on gas for the winter season, says gas analyst in Rystad, Sindre Knutsson. – This is not normal, he says. German storage level was on the way up that Sunday. Astora in Germany is Europe’s largest gas storage facility. Here, Germany usually stores large amounts of gas for the winter months. Photo: FABIAN BIMMER / Reuters The coal market is already under pressure Germany is not alone in having to lean more on coal in light of the uncertainty. From the EU Central and the United Kingdom, there have been previous reports that coal-fired power plants may have to start up. Since the New Year, the price of coal has increased by about 250 percent. In addition to the consequences of increased coal burning for the climate, there is also the question of whether there are enough supplies of coal out there at the moment. As Europe tries to secure more liquefied gas, so-called LNG, several countries in Asia have gone back to coal and thus secured much of the coal supplies that are, Knutsson says. Several coal-fired power plants such as this one in Bergkamen in Germany could be started up. Photo: imageBROKER / Hans Blossey / imageBROKER – The most important measures may thus have to be to lower demand, he says. This could mean rationing and shutting down industry. Should all flow of gas through Nord Stream stop, Europe could run out of gas completely already in January, according to the financial group Wood Mackenzie, writes Bloomberg. – The industry is thinnest as one has to cut. It will have a direct impact on the European economy, says Knutsson. Industry is probably the one that will have to shut down if Europe struggles to cover its energy supply. Here from Europe’s largest steelworks in Duisburg in Germany. Photo: INA FASSBENDER / Reuters MDG: – A huge dilemma In Germany, the party Dei Grøne is now in government. Leader of their sister party in Norway, Une Bastholm (MDG), tells news that she thinks it hurts for a green party to have to increase the consumption of coal MDG leader Une Bastholm Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB – Yes, it does Yes. It is a huge dilemma, not only for green parties in Europe, but everyone who has committed to climate cuts, says Bastholm. Nevertheless, she understands why the German government is taking drastic action. – When you have an energy crisis in Europe, and you have not managed to adjust to Putin’s aggression, you have to increase the use of coal in between, says Bastholm. At the same time, she thinks that things do not look as gloomy in the long run. – The big story is that Russia’s invasion has accelerated the green transition. For example, Germany has set its sights on a large-scale investment in renewable energy and energy saving. Both to cut emissions but also to free itself from Putin’s energy. Germany has a goal that by 2035 the country will only use electricity from renewable sources. Bastholm thinks it should have a bigger place in the Norwegian political debate. – One thing is to increase gas production in the short term, something that MDG also supports. But in 10-20 years’ time, the picture is that countries want to get rid of fossil energy. Thus, the crisis today is not an argument for looking for new oil and gas fields on the Norwegian shelf.
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Germany to burn coal to tackle Russian gas crisis – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
