Germany pushes 17-billion-euro gas power plan despite election uncertainty

According to sources in the government, Germany's Economy Minister pushed forward on Friday legislation that would provide billions of Euros to build gas-powered plants. However, the chances of this plan being approved by the parliament were slim.

Robert Habeck, who was previously the head of the Economy and Energy Ministry, has been given a caretaker position ahead of the snap elections scheduled for February after the collapse of a governing coalition.

Sources said that he sent the bill to the government departments on Friday for consultation in order to get it quickly through the parliament before the election.

This timeline, however, is ambitious considering that his government does not have a majority in the parliamentary chamber.

Andreas Jung of the CDU's climate and energy policy spokeswoman criticized the government because it did not provide a draft of the Power Plant Safety Act despite the importance of this act.

He stated that only a draft of the bill was submitted for internal review, which raised concerns amongst energy experts and operators.

Jung said that there was no basis for consultation in the parliament because there was no draft yet from the government.

It is planned to release 17 billion euros (17,70 billion dollars) in subsidies by 2042 for the purpose of stabilizing the grid using electricity generated from gas in times when renewable energy supplies are not reliable.

It includes tenders for building new hydrogen-ready gas power plants, retrofitting old gas power plants for the use of hydrogen and tenders for fully-hydrogen-powered plants, the economy ministry added.

Germany is betting that green hydrogen produced by electrolysis powered by wind and solar energy will be a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Habeck is under pressure from the energy companies who claim that his plan has already fallen behind schedule. By 2030, the first plants will be needed to secure a supply and allow the Greens Party of Minister Habeck to achieve its goal to end coal-fired electricity generation by 2030.

Kerstin Andree, head of the German utilities association BDEW said that the coal phase out by 2030 was dependent on the construction of enough gas-fired plants in this timeframe. She looked to the next government for action.

Andreae said that the project should be included in the 100-day agenda of a new federal government.

(source: Reuters)