‘Energy bottleneck’ warning from German business world to government

In Germany, the government planned to shut down the last three nuclear power plants on Saturday, while German companies warned the government about “energy supply bottlenecks due to the closure of the nuclear power plant.”

Germany will implement its decision to shut down the last 3 nuclear power plants, which it had previously postponed due to the energy crisis sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war, on April 15.

The plants in question, Isar 2 in Bavaria, Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg and the Emsland nuclear power plants in the northwest of the country covered 6 percent of the country’s energy needs last year.

IN 2011 THE DECISION WAS MADE TO ABANDON NUCLEAR

Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, Germany decided to abandon nuclear power during the government of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, arguing that the risks from nuclear power could not be safely controlled.

According to the nuclear power exit law after the disaster, 3 nuclear power plants that have been active for 30 years were shut down in 2021, and it was announced that the last three nuclear power plants in active status would be shut down by the end of 2022.

However, when the energy crisis deepened after Russia’s war in Ukraine, the government delayed its decision to close.

SECURITY OF SUPPLY RISKS CONTINUE

Peter Adrian, president of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DHIK), criticized the German government’s plan to phase out nuclear power and warned of supply bottlenecks and high energy prices.

“Despite the fall in natural gas prices, energy costs remain high for most companies in Germany. At the same time, risks stemming from security of supply continue,” he said.

Affirming that these risks continue not only during the coming winter months, but also in the long term, Adrian said:

“Therefore, we must continue to do everything possible to expand the supply of energy and under no circumstances must we restrict it further. Germany depends on all available energy sources. This is the only way to avoid or at least mitigate supply bottlenecks and another big rise in energy prices in the coming months.”

Stating that the risk of disconnection or restriction in power supply had not been seen before in Germany, Adrian said: “However, if this happens, it is a local handicap that cannot be offset by anything in an industrialized country.”

Adrian also reported that most German companies want usable nuclear power plants to be able to operate until the energy crisis is over.

HYDROGEN PLANTS

Kerstin Andreae, CEO of the German Association for Energy and Water Management (BDEW), said that the closure of the last three nuclear power plants in Germany increases the risk of dependence on coal-fired power plants.

Andreae stressed that the Federal Government must do everything in its power to make the quick decisions necessary for a secure, affordable and climate-friendly energy supply in the short and long term.

Stating that there is a need for “hydrogen-fuelled” power plants to ensure the security of continuous supply in the future, Andreae said: “The fact that these power plants are not commissioned on time leads to high gas emissions greenhouse effect because coal-fired power plants have to operate for longer periods of time.

Despite all these warnings, the German Minister for the Economy and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, maintains that although the last three nuclear power plants will be shut down on Saturday, the security of Germany’s energy supply is guaranteed.

ENERGY CRISIS

Uncertainties on the supply side after the Russia-Ukraine War and EU import embargoes on Russian energy products caused imbalances in Germany’s energy markets.

Germany faced a spiraling energy crisis triggered by Moscow’s decision to stop the flow of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after the war.

Furthermore, with Western sanctions, the German government had largely canceled billions of dollars worth of oil imports from Russia. Within the scope of the EU sanctions, it also announced that it would completely stop buying Russian crude from 2023.

Berlin also modified the Energy Security Law, nationalizing two subsidiaries of the Russian oil company Rosneft.

Germany, faced with the energy crisis with the Russia-Ukraine War, turned to coal and nuclear energy, which in the past was considered cold and planned to be discontinued. While the country restarted 14 units of thermal power plants, it had also put 3 units into operation in an emergency.

Berlin had also decided to keep 3 nuclear power plants, which were scheduled to close earlier, as emergency reserves in case of a potential power shortage in the winter.

THE COUNTRY THAT ALLOCATED THE MOST RESOURCES

In addition to these, the German government called on the Germans to save as much energy as possible, as well as various measures such as bill support and savings to alleviate the high gas and electricity bills in the energy crisis that It started with Russia-Ukraine. war.
The government had relaxed many of its core energy and environmental policies to further alleviate the energy crisis.

Berlin is also building new terminals in northern German ports to receive enough liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fully replace Russian gas.

According to Bruegel, a think tank based in Brussels, Germany is the country that allocates the most resources to the energy crisis among European countries, with a total of 268.1 billion euros.

The ratio of financial measures to national income in the face of the energy crisis in the country corresponded to 7.5 percent. (AA)