Coal plants in Europe will soon be reopened as the continent’s countries seek to reduce their dependence on Russian gas.
Concerns about energy supply shortages have prompted European countries to delay a deal to abandon coal while quickly finding alternatives to clean energy.
Last month, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced that the country could reopen some coal-fired power plants to close the energy supply gap and reduce dependence on Russia. The Polish government has also approached Australia to find an alternative source of coal.
In Germany, with an earlier commitment to stop using all coal-fired power plants by 2038, the economic chiefs of 16 states have called for an extension of the operating time for coal and nuclear power plants. German Deputy Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said coal-fired power plants could be operational after 2030.
Michaela Holl, a senior research fellow at Germany’s Agora Energiewende strategy institute, revealed several EU countries are discussing slowing coal disarmament.
“This could lead to slower-than-expected reductions in emissions from coal-fired power plants… but it will not affect Europe’s climate ambitions as the EU Emissions Trading System has already set absolute emission limit in this industry”, commented Holl expert.
It is likely that the Ukraine crisis will increase emissions from coal-fired power plants in the next year or two, said Lauri Myllyvirta, an analyst at the Center for Research in Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki. Then, the process of phasing out coal-fired power plants will happen faster than expected.
“The impact of the conflict and sanctions on the gas market has raised prices significantly… This means that power generation is shifting from gas to coal, increasing emissions in the short term.” , the expert said.
Gas prices in Europe hit an all-time high on March 7 due to the impact of the conflict in Ukraine. Prices of oil and other commodities also spiked as the US said it was ready to ban imports of Russian oil.
However, Mr. Myllyvirta added that Russia’s military campaign had created a new determination in Europe to cut dependence on future Russian gas imports. This is also a direction in line with Europe’s goal of decarbonisation. “Germany has announced a target of 80% renewable electricity by 2030 and 100% by 2035, which means that electricity generation from coal and gas is completely phased out”, expert Myllyvirta pointed out. .
The EU aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 55% by 2030 and become a carbon-free zone by 2050. To achieve its climate goals, the EU needs to reduce its use and imports of gas and coal.
“The Ukraine conflict has raised questions regarding energy imports from Russia and what policymakers need to do to reduce them,” the International Energy Agency (IAE) said in a statement, 3rd-March report proposes 10 ways to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian natural gas.
“Measures implemented this year could cut gas imports from Russia by a third, with additional temporary options to increase these cuts by more than half,” the IAE noted.