by Toby Sterling
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Netherlands said on Friday it plans to stop using fossil fuels from Russia by the end of the year. To achieve this goal, the government is banking on energy conservation, sustainable energies and increasing energy imports from other countries. the government in a press release.
The Netherlands thus joins other European Union countries that plan to cut their Russian energy supplies after Moscow invaded Ukraine. Gas accounts for around 44% of the Netherlands’ energy consumption. – one of the highest rates in Europe – but only around 15% of the gas used by the Dutch comes from Russia, according to government estimates The executive said it would support companies financially to help them to fill the Bergermeer gas storage site, one of the largest in Europe, with a capacity of 4.1 billion cubic meters before winter. The amount of this aid will amount to around 623 million euros, estimates the government, which will ask the public company Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) to ensure that this site is filled to at least 70% of its capacity if companies do not do this despite this support program. Bergermeer, which accounts for around a third of gas storage capacity in the Netherlands, is 60% owned by Emirati energy group Abu Dhabi National Energy and 40% by EBN. Russian energy giant Gazprom is entitled to 40% of the site’s storage capacity under an agreement that runs until 2045. In 2021, the Russian group did not use its share.
(Report Toby Sterling, French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)
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