Germany purchased from Russia last year, 12.6 million tons of coal – is the maximum for the last nine years. Record coal purchases associated with the desire of Germany to minimize dependence on Russian gas and the rejection of the peaceful atom.
According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, coal imports rose to 46 million tonnes (2.1%), and
import from Russia grew by 6.6% to 12.6 million tons, accounting for more than a quarter of all deliveries of raw material from outside the country. Germany is not so much bought in Russia since 2006, reports Bloomberg.
Coal exports from Russia – one of the main items of Russian energy exports, in its entirety, a country ranked third in the world after Indonesia and Australia. Russia sells coal mainly to EU countries and the Asia-Pacific region. And if in 1994 Russia exported just 24.1 million tons of coal, then in 2013, exports amounted to 143 million tons already, in 2014 – 153 million tons.
In recent months, the Russian coal is becoming increasingly attractive to European customers also due to a sharp weakening of the ruble. Russian mines are now able to offer the EU more favorable coal prices in dollars.
«Europe can replace the volume of Russian purchases in Colombia, South Africa, USA, Australia and Indonesia, but it will mean higher prices” – quoted by Bloomberg analyst Norwegian Nena AS Diana Basil. Deliveries of coal from Colombia to Germany, in particular, have declined in the past year by 27% to 5.9 million tonnes.
For the German coal purchases – a forced measure. After the accident at Japanese nuclear power plant “Fukushima” in March 2011, Germany decided to make the energy spread: announced the closure of all nuclear power plants and reduce the use of coal to generate electricity.
Now out of 17 nuclear power plants prematurely closed nine oldest. It was assumed that the missing energy – and nuclear power generates about a third of the required electricity – make up renewable energy sources (RES). Wind and solar panels have become the main trends of the decade. Even Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered installed on the roof of his residence solar panels.
According to the state energy concept, 35% of electricity in Germany until 2020, should be produced from renewable sources, and to in 2050 the share of energy from the sun and wind should rise to 80%.
In Germany, began construction of wind turbines, they now make up about 10% of energy produced. The same number is added solar panels and other alternative means of generating electricity. This is clearly not enough the most powerful economy of the European Union, especially since the RES does not allow to produce energy in a sufficiently stable manner, and even more so to cover peak loads. Moreover, alternative sources require large subsidies.
In order not to be in a situation of energy shortage, Germany decides to partially return to coal-gas and coal. Now Germany has already built or designed 23 new power plants operating on coal. Estimated Greenpeace, their capacity exceeds 24 thousand. MW. In fact, Germany is going back to the future. Coal production in Germany was declared unprofitable even 50 years ago, most famous mines in the Ruhr Valley was closed on that left hundreds of billions of euros. And stations operating on coal is still a lot. It is not surprising that some of the needs of the coal had to cover including the expense of Russia.
The shift to coal contributed to the costs in politics. As a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Germany, for that matter, and some other European countries, decided to diversify sources of energy supply. The aim of the new policy – to reduce dependence on Russian gas, especially since the construction of the “South Stream” was terminated.
Finally, the growth of demand for coal due to purely economic reasons. Coal is cheaper than gas. Coal is easier to fit into the anti-crisis policy of budget austerity, the champion of which Germany has always been. And subsidizing renewable energy is a heavy burden on the budget.
Because that the authorities in Germany have state support “green energy” gas generation in Europe is in a protracted crisis. Large companies tend to get rid of the energy from conventional gas power plants often operate at a loss in terms of large-scale state support renewable energy and return to low-cost coal, writes the German newspaper Handelsblatt.
In addition to these reasons growing interest in the coal due to lower demand for it from the US. Shale revolution has fallen off the price of coal, and the United States began to look for sources of sales outside the country, said Sergei Pikin, head of the Energy Development Fund.
The share of gas in the energy mix in Germany in 2010 was about one-third, and the share of coal decreased to 16%, but now coal is clearly wins back position, he said. But the growth of imports from Russia will not last long, the Germans did not give up a large-scale transition to alternative sources. Although the crisis in the euro area may slow down the pace of transition.
Henry Evans-Jones, Deputy Editorial Director, Platts energy markets in Europe, at the request of “Newspapers. Ru »analyzed data on energy imports. According to him,
coal generation in Germany will demand at least eight or nine years.
«Demand for coal in Europe falls due to lower demand for electricity, but it nevertheless remains a major source of fuel for power generation in the EU and in Germany. We are witnessing the generation of electricity at several new power plants running on lignite, and they will be in demand until 2023, when it is planned to close all nuclear power plants and old coal plants that emit large amounts of harmful substances “- said the expert.
temporary return to coal not happy environmentalists and doctors. According to the German Alliance for health and the environment (HEAL), coal smoke causes heart disease and chronic bronchitis. It annually takes the lives of three thousand inhabitants of Germany.
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