The decommissioned coal-fired power station at Mellach in Styria must be reactivated in an emergency to secure energy supplies in the event of a lack of gas from Russia. Environmental organization Global 2000 is concerned about plans announced Sunday evening, as coal-fired power pumps about twice as much CO2 into the atmosphere as natural gas, fueling the climate crisis. The purchase of the coal should not be a preliminary decision for use.
“Coal is the most climate-damaging energy and leads to harmful mercury emissions and particulate matter,” said Global 2000 climate and energy spokesman Johannes Wahlmüller Monday. “When talking about the possible use of the coal-fired power plant in Mellach, it should be clear that these should only be acute emergencies with a limited time frame,” says Wahlmüller.
The environmental organization is pushing for much more speed in the energy transition in Austria. Energy policy must be more than issuing emergency measures. Greenpeace called for national solidarity on Monday. “The federal states in particular must give up their stance of denial and present concrete plans as soon as possible to expand renewable energy on a massive scale,” said Greenpeace expert Jasmin Duregger. Reactivating coal is “unacceptable”.
Criticism of the SPÖ
SPÖ energy spokesman Alois Schroll also sharply criticizes the government’s failure to secure Austria’s energy supply: “The need to reactivate the coal-fired power station in Mellach is solely due to the inaction of the turquoise-green government. For months we have been hearing just that everything has been set in motion to reduce dependence on Russian gas and provide the population with a sustainable energy supply. But the announcements were always vague.”
government emergency plan
The Mellach district heating plant south of Graz was the last coal-fired power station in Austria. In the spring of 2020, electricity was generated from coal for the last time. Now it has to be converted again so that it can burn coal again in an emergency if there is not enough gas available. The federal government had agreed that with the Verbund group, the Federal Chancellery announced on Sunday evening. The conversion will take months, said Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), the Verbund group is working hard on it.
Gas deliveries remain limited
Russia has also announced that it will stop gas deliveries before Monday, the climate ministry said. On Sunday, only about half of the originally announced amount had come to Austria. Nevertheless, the domestic storage facilities were also filled, it said. The storage level is now 41.32 percent or 39.46 terawatt hours. According to OMV and E-Control, the current gas supply is guaranteed for Monday.
Source: Krone
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