Debate about giga gas storage in Haidach – politics

The news that Austria wants to connect the gas storage facility in Haidach near Salzburg, which is located on its own territory, to its own gas network, is causing a stir in Germany. So far, Haidach has mainly supplied households and industrial companies in neighboring Bavaria with natural gas and was connected to the German grid. But now Austria also wants to tap into the storage more. In an interview with the SZ, Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler said that it had been decided to connect “all gas storage facilities on Austrian territory to our network”. The decision of the parliament in Vienna is final.

Bavaria would be affected first of all. The country’s Economics Minister, Hubert Aiwanger, is said to have reacted calmly to Austria’s announcement. It is now important that the memory is finally filled quickly, according to the leader of the Free Voters. But he doesn’t have much else left. Because the news that Austria is now also demanding access to the deposits in Haidach is by no means new and has been an issue at federal and EU level for some time.

Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Bavaria depend on the memory

On the one hand, the parliament in Vienna had already decided in June that all gas storage facilities located on Austria’s own territory should also be connected to the Austrian grid. Secondly, during a working visit to Vienna on July 12, the German Economics Minister Robert Habeck signed a bilateral agreement with Gewessler that provides for the joint use of the storage facilities. And thirdly, as a spokesman for Gewessler points out, the regulation from Brussels, which provides for a minimum filling of European storage facilities, also provides a basis under European law. So far, Haidach has only been connected to the German network; nevertheless – via the detour via German lines – the federal states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg are also supplied from Haidach.

In Berlin it is also said that Austria’s step is not a surprise, that the forthcoming decision has been clear for a few days. Robert Habeck’s Ministry of Economics was informed about this from Vienna. However, the German government is keeping a low profile on the possible consequences of the step in the event of any gas bottlenecks.

The departments in Berlin and Vienna are currently negotiating in detail who will fill and use which areas of the storage facility in Haidach. However, according to Vienna, one should not forget that the filling of the storage facility must not be carried out by governments, but by companies. The storage facility in Haidach is a joint project between the Austrian RAG, Gazprom and the German gas trading company Wingas. Around 2.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas can be stored there, making it the second largest storage facility in Central Europe. The plant was expanded at the initiative of the government in Moscow in the mid-2000s, when Russian gas was mainly transported through Ukraine.

Open detailed view

However, the ownership structure is extremely complicated: one third of the plant belongs to the RAG Austria group and two thirds to the Russian company Gazprom, which sells gas there through several subsidiaries. RAG Austria, in turn, belongs to several energy companies, including Uniper – the group has just been rescued by the German federal government with billions. RAG Austria built the plant in Haidach and is the technical operator of the storage facility, but has no influence on the marketing of the gas. The Astora company, a subsidiary of Gazprom Germania, which has since been taken over in trust by the German Federal Network Agency, is responsible for one-third of sales, and the Gazprom subsidiary GSA for two-thirds.

The Gazprom part of the storage is currently completely empty. In June, however, the government in Vienna also regulated by law that companies that do not use their gas storage facilities must offer them to other companies. If this is not implemented, they lose their rights of use. The “Lex Gazprom” is likely to result in the Austrian energy regulatory authority, E-Control, withdrawing its storage capacities from Gazprom.

Unlike the Bavarian Economics Minister Aiwanger, Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) is not completely relaxed about what is happening around Haidach. “We are watching gas storage developments with great concern,” he said. There is an agreement between Berlin and Vienna that states that the majority of the gas is intended for Bavaria. “Hence our clear demand: the federal government must make the agreement with Austria transparent and clearly state when and how much gas will flow to Bavaria,” demanded Söder. But he rather had the impression that something had only moved in favor of Austria. At Haidach, however, it is about supplying all of Germany.

The gas storage facility in Haidach, about 30 kilometers northeast of Salzburg, does indeed play a particularly important role in the current gas crisis. The facility is the second largest gas storage facility in Central Europe after Rehden in Lower Saxony. It could be unfortunate for Bavaria that Austria now wants to have a say, as the state in which Söder is head of government is particularly attached to the gas.

Renewable energies are only making slow progress in Bavaria. Now that has consequences

There are several reasons for this: In addition to the Ukraine war, there is Bavaria’s geographical location, but also the energy policy of the CSU-led state government. Since the attack on Ukraine, Russia has been supplying significantly less gas, and the storage facilities have not been filled. At the same time, it is difficult to deliver liquid gas (LNG) to Bavaria, as there are only a few coal-fired power plants in southern Germany. The nuclear power plants, which were gradually taken off the grid, were partially replaced by gas power plants.

In addition, renewable energies are only making slow progress in Bavaria of all places. The generous distance rules for wind turbines introduced by the Bavarian state government have so far prevented the expansion of wind power. The construction of high-voltage lines, which should bring the electricity from the wind farms in northern Germany to the south, was also strongly opposed and delayed by the CSU, especially by former Prime Minister Horst Seehofer. The lines are therefore not finished.

The result: Bavaria and its economy, including energy-intensive chemical companies such as Wacker Chemie or car manufacturer Audi, have to fear a gas emergency.