The Amer power station in Geertruidenberg is not in the least eager to generate plenty of energy from coal again. Such a switch would take many weeks for the company, which currently mainly generates energy from biomass. Energy company RWE, the German owner of the power station, reports this to Omroep Brabant.
The cabinet wants coal-fired power stations to run faster again because of the gas crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Owner RWE, however, has shifted to energy from biomass in recent years, and the company also receives a subsidy for this.
The power station currently runs on 80 percent biomass and 20 percent on coal. Biomass is plant material. The power station in Geertruidenberg mainly uses wood as biomass.
Retraining and buying coal
In the past, the power station only produced energy that was generated in coal mills. RWE says it would be ‘totally not in line with the strategy’ of the Amercentrale to return to that situation.
“Then we have to retrain staff and start buying coal en masse. Such a switch takes eight to ten weeks,” said a spokesperson.
The company says it still wants to consult with the government. “Because we also have many questions. Then we can look at what is possible. But we are happy to continue with energy from biomass.”
Gas shortage
According to the cabinet, generating energy from coal is necessary because the war in Ukraine may threaten a gas shortage. The cabinet is talking about a gas crisis, the first level of which was announced on Monday by Minister Rob Jetten of Climate and Energy.
According to the cabinet, there is no gas shortage yet, but the risk of such a shortage is ‘too great to do nothing’. The first level means that gas companies must disclose their gas stock and upcoming gas deliveries on a daily basis. For coal-fired power stations, this means that they no longer have a production restriction since Monday.
biomass
RWE understands that coal is a logical solution for the very short term. “But on the one hand, we are now being called upon to go back to coal, while the law still prohibits energy extraction from coal mills by 2030. Then we would rather see that we work with the alternative: biomass. That is cheaper and easier to use. and it is more environmentally friendly,” claims the energy company.
At the time, the government restricted coal-fired power stations to achieve climate goals. However, the law that states that the coal-fired power stations will close in 2030 will remain. Minister Jetten says he will come up with new plans on Budget Day to limit CO2 emissions.
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