“We will do everything to ensure that Germany’s energy supply is secure,” said Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck yesterday at a hastily called press conference. Germany imports 35 percent of its oil from Russia. But there is a national oil reserve that ensures independence from imports for ninety days. “So we’re on the safe side with oil,” said Habeck. Germany’s economy can cope well with longer import losses and high prices.
According to Habeck, Germany gets around 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia. Before the winter, the gas storage tanks were not well filled to get through the winter safely. “We fixed that.” Various measures and acquisitions have made it possible to stabilize the fill levels in the storage tanks. The volume now corresponds to that of an average year like 2017. We can now safely get through this winter and the gas supply is secure even in the event that prices should explode or Russia reduces or completely shuts down gas supplies. With a view to next winter, Habeck said further measures are on the way. In the future, the owners of the gas storage facilities should be obliged to fill the storage facilities completely before the cold season begins. A corresponding law will be introduced. In addition, terminals for liquid gas are to be set up in Germany.
Germany also has a fifty percent import dependency on Russian coal. Habeck announced that his ministry would take care of a “coal reserve”. As with gas, the aim is to ensure that security of supply is always maintained even in the event of raw material restrictions.
Robert Habeck at the press conference on Friday
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Image: dpa
In addition, said Habeck, it is important to promote independence from coal, gas and oil as quickly as possible, with an accelerated expansion of renewable energies. This gives the energy transition a geopolitical dimension in addition to the climate protection aspect. For Easter, the federal government has announced a package of laws with which the energy transition should finally pick up speed once more. But shouldn’t politicians correct the timetable and plans for the coal phase-out in view of the Ukraine crisis? Numerous researchers and energy experts have told the “Science Media Center” in Cologne which priorities politicians should set despite or precisely because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Loud Bruno Burger from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg the main concern now is to save natural gas where it is used as a “second source” for power generation. In addition, they should reservoirs need to be refilled as quickly as possible so that we are at least well prepared for next winter. In the future, the German natural gas reserves would have to be managed by Germany itself, “to ensure that they are available for national needs”.
