Russians throttle gas
Austria reactivates decommissioned coal-fired power plant
06/20/2022, 07:19 am
For climate protection, Austria shut down the last coal-fired power plant in the country in 2020. But since Gazprom is turning the gas tap, the Mellach site will be put back on the grid, according to the Federal Chancellery in Vienna. But that’s not a quick fix.
In the face of curtailed Russian gas supplies, Austria has decided to reactivate a coal-fired power plant that has been shut down. The Federal Chancellery in Vienna has announced that the authorities and the largest Austrian electricity producer, the Verbund Group, are working on equipping the power plant in Mellach in southern Austria for operation with coal again. The primary goal is to secure Austria’s gas supply, said Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
The decision was made by the conservative-green government led by Nehammer after a meeting of the crisis cabinet on the throttled gas supplies from Russia. The Russian energy company Gazprom had previously announced that it would reduce its natural gas deliveries to Austria – similar to what it had previously done with Germany and Italy, among others. In mid-June, the gas storage capacity in Austria was 39 percent. For comparison: In Germany, the Federal Network Agency recently reported 57 percent.
The Mellach power plant, located near Graz in Styria, was the last coal-fired power plant in Austria to be taken off the grid in spring 2020. The shutdown was part of the Austrian climate protection strategy with the aim of obtaining 100 percent of the electricity from renewable energies. With the reactivation that has now been decided, energy can again be generated from coal in Mellach in an emergency. According to the APA news agency, the conversion will take several months.
Chancellor Nehammer explained that Austria is trying to replace the missing Russian gas with other sources or other suppliers. In Germany, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck had also announced the increased use of coal-fired power plants, among other measures. This should reduce gas consumption in Germany and thus promote the filling of storage facilities. The minister called the increased use of coal “bitter”, but “almost necessary in this situation”.