Netherlands decides to lift curbs on coal-fired power stations amid Russian supply drop

The Netherlands has joined Germany and Austria in returning to coal as Russian energy giant Gazprom announced reduction in supply. The Netherlands climate and energy minister Rob Jetten announced that the government has decided to "immediately" lift the restriction on "production for coal-fired power stations from 2002 to 2024," Fox Business reported. Rob Jetten said that the decision has been taken along with other European countries.

Rob Jetten has urged the people to do everything they can do to limit their utilisation of gas to prevent shortages in winter. The decision of the Dutch government comes as the European nations have been making efforts to reduce dependency on Russian energy amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The development comes after Russia's Gazprom announced that it was reducing supplies through Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany citing "technical reasons." 

Notably, the Netherlands has been phasing out the use of coal to produce power by permitting coal-fired power stations to operate for a maximum of 35% of their capacity in recent years, as per the Fox Business report. The Dutch government has been phasing out the use of coal to move to sustainable energy to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Earlier, Austria and Germany announced a similar decision regarding the use of coal-fired power plants as Gazprom announced a reduction in supplies. 

Germany to limit use of natural gas for electricity production: Robert Habeck 

On 19 June, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced that the country will limit the use of natural gas for electricity production to compensate for a drop in supply from Russia. He further said that the government will need to increase the burning of coal. Calling the situation "serious," Robert Habeck said that storage facilities in Germany are presently at 56.7% capacity and they will be able to make up for the drop in supply from Russia by buying the energy from elsewhere, according to AP. He urged the people in Germany to reduce the use of energy amid the ongoing supply situation. He stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin plan is to "unsettle us by driving up the price and dividing us." He further stated that they will not allow Russia to succeed in its plan. 

Inputs from AP

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