Germany wants to say goodbye to nuclear and coal. However, wind and sun do not (yet) satisfy demand. The government wants to make the transition with gas-fired power plants. But many questions remain open.
They are intended to help Germany build bridges to a future without greenhouse gases: gas-fired power plants.
When the EU Commission proposed at the turn of the year to classify the systems as sustainable under certain conditions, a heated debate broke out in Germany. Because the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP is also relying on this type of power generation on the way to increasingly climate-friendly energy generation.
What role does gas play in the energy transition?
By the end of the year, the last nuclear power plants in Germany are to be taken off the grid. By 2038 – “ideally” even by 2030, as stated in the coalition agreement – Germany wants to end the generation of electricity from coal in the interest of climate protection. Renewable energies are to take the place of nuclear power and fossil energies.
But until enough renewable energies are available, gas-fired power plants are needed, the SPD, Greens and FDP state in the coalition agreement. However, these should be built in such a way that they could later also be operated with climate-friendly hydrogen. “Natural gas is indispensable for a transitional period.” This assessment is also based on the fact that energy generation from wind and sun fluctuates depending on the weather conditions.
Is the operation worthwhile for energy companies?
This is where the Zukunft Gas Association, an association of players from the gas industry, sees the legislator in demand. According to the current rules of the electricity market, only energy that is actually produced is paid for. “The availability of production capacities – the security of supply – on the other hand, has no price.” That could be arranged differently.
The energy economist Manuel Frondel from the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research (RWI) in Essen also sees open questions: “If gas-fired power plants are increasingly doomed to inactivity in the distant future, it could be that a so-called capacity market has to be established.” In such a market, power plant operators would be paid for having power plant capacity available. “But we’re not there yet: it remains to be seen whether the market can fix it before another subsidy mechanism called the capacity market is introduced.”
The energy supplier RWE now sees politics on course. “So that new gas-fired power plants pay off in the future, even if the number of annual operating hours is expected to be low, incentives for investments are required,” says a spokesman. “In addition, clarity is needed with regard to the later conversion to operation with hydrogen.” The company already operates gas-fired power plants with a capacity of four gigawatts in Germany. RWE plans to build another at least two gigawatts.
How many gas power plants have to be built?
Expert estimates differ widely here. According to the Federal Network Agency, gas-fired power plants with a capacity of almost 31 gigawatts were connected to the grid in Germany at the beginning of January. The Energy Economics Institute at the University of Cologne assumes that a new construction of hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants with a total capacity of 23 gigawatts will be necessary for an early phase-out of coal. The Climate Paths 2.0 study prepared for the Federation of German Industries even calculates that new gas-fired power plants with a capacity of 43 gigawatts will be needed by 2030 for reasons of security of supply.
“It’s difficult to make a forecast, not only because it affects the future, which we all don’t know, but because politicians have to set the framework,” says Frondel. In order to save electricity consumers very high costs, it would be desirable if the expansion of gas power took place without a capacity market if possible.
“Otherwise, there could easily be an excessive increase in natural gas capacity of around 43 gigawatts and all nuclear and coal-fired power plants that have recently been shut down and those that are still to be shut down could be replaced by gas-fired power plants. That would definitely be overkill.” According to Frondel, the expansion of cross-border networks also plays a role. “If we can import more electricity, fewer gas-fired power plants have to be built here,” says the head of the “Environment and Resources” department at RWI.
What alternatives are there?
“In order to compensate for the fluctuations in the generation of renewable energies, we should not rely on gas, but on the expansion of storage options and electricity grids,” agrees Reniee Vietheer from the environmental organization Greenpeace. “If there is a temporary surplus of renewable energy, we need different storage options.”
DIW expert Franziska Holz is skeptical as to whether hydrogen will really play a major role in power generation. Natural gas could also continue to be used to fill gaps in the supply of renewables, at least as long as only small quantities are involved.
How difficult would it be to convert to hydrogen?
“The conversion of gas-fired power plants to hydrogen would be very complex and expensive, and hydrogen is also likely to be scarce and therefore expensive in the end,” explains Holz. Zukunft Gas, on the other hand, considers the technological effort to be manageable. Large parts of the technology have nothing to do with the gas. However, a hydrogen power plant needs a different gas turbine. “It is the heart of the system and costs more for hydrogen than for natural gas due to the newer and still less known technology.” But these costs would decrease over time and would not weigh so heavily when investing in a power plant. “The critical thing is the fuel costs, hydrogen is currently about twice as expensive as natural gas.”
What is the environmental balance of gas?
“Compared to a coal-fired power plant, operating a gas-fired power plant produces an average of 65 percent less CO2 emissions,” points out Zukunft Gas. The gas industry has also been working for years to prevent leaks in the infrastructure. “Overall, the methane losses from the production and transport of the gas used in Germany amount to around 0.3 percent by volume.”
DIW expert Holz is less optimistic. “Unfortunately, there is currently no reliable data on leaks and their possible effects on the carbon footprint of gas,” she says. This is not expected until next year or the year after that.
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.
