These are unusual sounds from an organization dedicated to protecting the environment. But in view of the Russian war of aggression, Greenpeace is also cutting corners when it comes to climate protection.
The environmental association Greenpeace has described the recommissioning of coal-fired power plants for the power supply as necessary. “It is bitter, but unavoidable, that coal-fired power plants that have already been shut down go back on line,” said Karsten Smid, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace, on Monday. “In order to free themselves from the politically indebted dependence on Putin’s gas supplies, hard coal-fired power plants have to step into the breach for a short time.”
So that this does not become a step backwards for climate protection, the additional emissions that are now inevitable must be offset in the following years, said Smid in view of the planned restart of hard coal-fired power plants in Bexbach (Saarland) and Heyden (North Rhine-Westphalia).
However, Greenpeace is calling for the start-up of lignite-fired power plants for the power supply to be avoided. “For a secure power supply, not a single one of the particularly climate-damaging lignite-fired power plants has to be restarted – in order to achieve the climate targets that have been decided, they must under no circumstances be fired up again,” said Smid. “The high prices for gas and electricity force energy to be used sparingly and make wind and solar power unbeatably cheap,” said the Greenpeace expert.
Hard coal power plant Heyden is back on the grid
Another hard coal-fired power plant has been taken from the reserve to achieve the desired savings in natural gas in Germany. The Heyden power plant in Petershagen in North Rhine-Westphalia on the border with Lower Saxony has been back on the grid since Monday morning at 5.30 a.m., said a spokesman for the operator Uniper. According to earlier information, it should produce electricity by the end of April.
With an output of 875 megawatts, the Uniper power plant in Heyden is one of the most powerful coal-fired power plants in Germany. It had been in service since 1987 and was last in the grid reserve. This means that it only occasionally produced electricity for grid stability.
Since July 14, an ordinance has allowed hard coal-fired power plants from the so-called grid reserve to be put back into operation in order to save gas. According to the Federal Network Agency, gas accounted for 9.8 percent of power generation in July.
At the beginning of August, the Mehrum power plant in Hohenhameln, Lower Saxony, which belongs to the Czech energy group EPH, was the first hard coal-fired power plant to be pulled from the reserve.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
