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Answer to your questions: are coal-fired power stations really the only solution? † NOW

The coal-fired power stations are allowed to run at full power again, the cabinet announced on Monday. We asked what you would like to know about this decision. In this article we answer the five most frequently asked questions.

1. How does this help solve the gas crisis?

It may cause confusion: the decision to generate more electricity with coal-fired power stations in order to save gas. Yet this is the case. Electricity is currently generated in gas-fired power stations in the Netherlands.

Coal-fired power stations were only allowed to run at 35 percent of their capacity in the period 2022-2024. It is estimated that between 2.5 and 3 billion cubic meters of extra gas was consumed by gas-fired power stations. This can now be saved.

The cabinet has taken this decision so that the security of supply will not be endangered next winter. All European countries have gas storage facilities, where gas is stored annually in the summer for the winter. The Netherlands is well on schedule with filling, but other European countries are finding it increasingly difficult, explained Energy and Climate Minister Rob Jetten. Especially now that Russia is starting to pinch more countries, such as Italy and Germany.

The gas that is now being saved in the Netherlands is not used one-on-one to fill the storage facilities here, but this lightens the European gas market. So this will make filling easier for other countries, especially since countries are taking similar measures. Germany is also going to turn on the coal-fired power stations again.

2. Doesn’t this cause problems with the electricity capacity?

The electricity grid in the Netherlands is ‘full’ in many places, which means that companies cannot get new connections and solar parks have to queue to be connected. But running the coal-fired power stations at full capacity has no consequences for that problem.

The capacity problems are mainly caused by the many solar panels that at times suddenly supply a lot of power and by customers who want to use more and more electricity.

The coal-fired power stations will be running instead of the natural gas power stations and will therefore not put an extra burden on the electricity grid. They must, however, ensure that we can still produce sufficient electricity if less gas is available, for example because Russia is cutting the supply to Europe even further.

3. What does this decision mean for the climate goals?

The extra use of coal-fired power stations also results in extra CO2 emissions. In fact, the cabinet hoped to save 4 to 4.5 megatons of emissions annually by limiting the production of coal-fired power stations. Because that will not take place in the next 2.5 years, a total of about 10 megatons of extra CO2 will be released into the air.

That is also a bitter pill for Jetten. “You have to take measures that you never thought possible before,” he said on Monday. Nevertheless, the so-called Urgenda target will probably be will be met† Dutch gas consumption has fallen by a quarter due to the high prices and the relatively warm spring, which has also resulted in significant CO2 savings.

That is why we are aiming for a reduction in CO2 emissions of about 30 percent compared to 1990, well above the Urgenda climate target.

According to Jetten, achieving the Urgenda target in 2023 and 2024 is less certain. Partly for this reason, he wants to compensate for the extra emissions from the coal-fired power stations by focusing on energy savings. Exactly what measures will be taken to this end will have to be announced after the summer. In any case, Jetten says that it wants to ensure that by 2030 it will be possible to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 55 percent.

4. Why was it not decided to get more gas from Groningen?

With a looming gas crisis, there is also a call to get more gas from Groningen again. The cabinet is really sticking to it: Groningen is only a “very last resort”.

The government does not consider more gas extraction in the interest of safety for Groningen residents and for restoring confidence in the government to be an option. This gas year (which runs until October) 4.5 billion cubic meters will be extracted. The coming gas year will be a tipping point: then the Groningen field will be on the pilot light. This means that no more is won than is necessary to keep the locations open.

Due to current developments, the cabinet has decided to put all eleven wells on the pilot flame instead of just a few. They will still close permanently in 2023 or 2024.

This means that production can be increased again until that time. But what is needed for that?

The limit set by the government for this is safety. “Gas extraction in Groningen cannot be safe. Only when there is such a large gas shortage, which threatens the safety of more people, will the use of the Groningen field be discussed,” said State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Mining).

This is the case, for example, if there is no longer enough gas to heat hospitals, for cooking or to make diesel oil (crucial for certain industries). The cabinet will then weigh these dangers against the dangers for the people of Groningen. “Only then”, emphasized Vijlbrief.

5. Are there no other solutions?

Burning extra coal is a measure “that we would absolutely not start in less exceptional times,” Jetten said on Monday. But are there no other ways to reduce dependence on Russian gas? Many readers asked about the possibility of building nuclear power plants or generating more solar and wind energy.

The problem is that such developments take years. The cabinet is making preparations for the construction of two new nuclear power plants, but it is expected that it will take at least ten years before they supply electricity. The accelerated installation of solar and wind farms also takes time, and it is also difficult to find space for them on the electricity grid.

That while Russian President Vladimir Putin could cause major problems next winter by turning off the gas tap. “The risk of doing nothing has become too great,” Jetten concluded.

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