Independence through renewable energies?

[suchona.kani.z]

Before the Russian attack on Ukraine, half of Germany's gas and coal imports and even a third of its oil came from Russia. That is why the German government has been trying to emancipate itself from Russian energy imports since the beginning of the war. As is well known, the planned commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been stopped. In addition, gas has not flowed through Nord Stream 1 since August 2022. At the end of September, gas leaks occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.

In order to become independent of Russian gas, stricter requirements for the filling level of gas storage facilities came into force at the end of July 2022. On October 1, 2022, the storage facilities were to be 85 percent full, and on November 1, 95 percent. Both of these marks were exceeded, so that by mid-November 2022, German gas storage facilities were even 100 percent full.

In order to reduce dependence on Russia, the federal government lebanon consumer email list relied on the construction of several LNG terminals for gas ships. As early as the first quarter of 2023, LNG was delivered via a floating terminal in Wilhelmshaven. We have already reported on the status quo of the LNG projects . The federal government managed to fill the gas storage facilities above the "target" of 40 percent. Currently, German gas storage facilities are almost 70 percent full. The federal government also managed this because it increasingly relied on gas imports from European partners.

Since September 2022, Germany has no longer imported gas directly from Russia. In addition to gas imports via the LNG terminals, Germany mainly imports gas from Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Overall, the federal government has managed to keep its gas storage facilities at a safe level by reducing gas consumption and importing alternative sources. According to Economics Minister Robert Habeck, gas consumption in Germany should be reduced by 15 to 20 percent compared to the previous year in order to continue to ensure this.

By restructuring and diversifying gas imports, the federal government has managed to fill gas storage facilities to almost 65 percent. In contrast, at the same time last year, gas storage facilities were only 26 percent full.

In Germany, more than half of the electricity generated often comes from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. When it is dark and the wind fails, more electricity from gas, coal and nuclear power plants is fed into the grid.