Germany replaces Russian gas with, for example, Colombian and South African coal. Uniper is already one of the most polluting companies in Germany. toured the Ruhr region to see what is happening at Uniper’s coal-fired power plants.
RUHR REGION Corn on the cob will soon be ripe in the field. Oak trees shed their green berries in drought. Sunflowers glow on the ground.
In addition to dog walkers, yellow vest coal workers can be seen here and there on the cycle paths of the historic coal mining town of Gladbeck.
The last coal mines here closed 50 years ago, but coal still fuels Gladbeck. The cooling towers and chimneys dominating the landscape remind us of that.
The Scholven coal-fired power plant and its associated units in the surrounding area form one of the largest power plant units in Germany. Scholven belongs to the energy company Uniper, which in turn is owned by the Finnish state company Fortum.
New climate goals
Scholven is a living example of why Fortum’s climate goals may run away due to the billion investment made a few years ago.
Germany wants Uniperkin to save gas now for the winter. The German state will become the owner of Uniper with a 30 percent share in the agreement drawn up last Friday.
Germany is doing everything to get rid of Russian fossil energy, but also to secure the survival of companies critical to the energy system, such as Uniper.
Since the gas now needs to be stored, Uniperkin has to replace it with coal and lignite in the fall and winter.
Coal is a significantly worse energy raw material than gas in terms of climate emissions. Increasing coal power weakens the carbon balance of energy production.
Achieving Fortum’s climate goals may also become difficult due to the situation in Germany.
Scholve had to close in the fall
Just over a year ago, Fortum proudly announced that it would begin the shutdown of its subsidiary Uniper’s coal power in Germany.
Then Putin decided to attack Ukraine, and the plans came to a halt. Now Germany is increasing the use of coal because Gazprom has significantly reduced gas supplies to the country. Only a fifth of the pre-war gas volume comes through the Nord Stream pipeline
The situation in Germany is confusing for individual power plants. Energy companies are now allowed to reconnect power plants using fossil fuels other than natural gas to the grid voluntarily until spring 2024.
At Uniperi, a decision has not yet been made about the fate of the various coal-fired power plants. Perhaps partly due to the unclear situation, the company announced on Thursday that it was postponing its results announcement – and the main owner Fortum had to do the same.
– Unfortunately, it is not possible to estimate when the decision will be made, because there are still technical, organizational and business management problems to be solved, Uniper’s communications told on Wednesday.
However, the company says that it will stick to its climate goal, meaning that it intends to reduce its carbon emissions by 35 percent from last year’s level by 2035.
It is still clear that the reduction of coal power will not succeed as planned. In Germany, alternatives are being investigated to start up already closed coal power plants.
It is unclear how much coal is needed in autumn and winter. As a precautionary measure, the government can decide that coal-fired power plants already planned for decommissioning will be used for energy production.
Coal is also sought from developing countries
The purpose is that coal pushes power plants that use natural gas out of the electricity market, and thus reduces the need for Russian gas. Without coal, Germany will not achieve independence from Russian gas if energy consumption continues at its current level.
In Germany, for the first time, the life cycle extension of the three nuclear power plants that are still in operation has now been seriously considered. However, it is difficult to extend their service life with a sudden decision. Fuel orders and necessary maintenance for nuclear power plants are usually prepared years in advance.
In addition, the country is considering whether gas exports should be reduced. Germany’s gas exports are about 30 percent of the amount that the country itself consumes.
Germany’s gas problems were already revealed in the spring. The warehouses were almost empty, as Gazprom had been supplying less gas than usual for months.
The Russians deliberately drove up the price of gas since last year. Both coal and natural gas prices quadrupled.
At the end of the winter, Germany’s gas reserves were only 25 percent full.
To prevent the same thing from happening again next winter, Germany has set minimum filling levels for gas tanks. The gas tanks must be 95 percent full by November.
The emergency plan for the gas market has been in use for a few months: consumption, storage capacity and other factors have been closely monitored since spring. Various measures are being used to motivate companies and the rest of society to continue saving gas.
Since then, the gas reservoirs have filled up again. In mid-July, the occupancy rate returned to the average, i.e. around 65 percent.
The second phase of the emergency plan, the alert phase, is now in effect. Direct state intervention in the energy market and gas supplies is only possible at the third level – the emergency level.
Professor of economics at the University of Helsinki Niku Määttänen considers Germany’s energy decisions to be bad.
– They have worsened Germany’s own situation and made the country more vulnerable. At the same time, the decisions have tightened the energy market throughout Europe, says Määttänen.
Germany has tried to protect both companies and households from rising gas prices.
– As a result, saving gas, which is quite necessary here, has been postponed.
When Europe’s largest energy market has not started saving in time, the prices of other energy raw materials have also risen. According to Määttänen, it makes it difficult to adapt to the coming winter.
Politicians are afraid of the voters’ reactions, but German companies have already started to adapt to the situation.
One in six of all companies reported recently in the survey (you switch to another service), that they intend to completely or partially reduce their production. When energy needs to be saved, shutting down unprofitable activities makes sense.
– Maybe the politicians think that the problem is only the high price of gas, although the problem is that it is now less available than before, and someone has to save it, says Määttänen.
According to him, the most effective would be to let the price of gas rise to its true level for all consumers.
– Then everyone would have an incentive to reduce consumption. First, it is reduced by those who find it easiest to reduce. Then low-income households can be supported separately, says Määttänen.
Määttänen believes that Germany will adapt to the situation, even though it will be difficult.
– There may be changes in the company structure and some companies may go bankrupt, but Germany will continue to be one of the most prosperous countries in the world.
You can discuss the topic until Saturday evening, July 30. until.