Energy suppliers expect significantly less gas from Russia and are trying to close the gap with other energy sources. While some companies want to switch back to coal, the distribution network operator Netze BW is testing the use of hydrogen. In July, part of the natural gas network in Öhringen in Baden-Württemberg is to be separated and supplied independently as part of a pilot project. According to the EnBW subsidiary, the proportion of hydrogen is gradually being increased to up to 30 percent for this “island”. Around 30 households are involved, said project manager Heike Grüner.
With the “Hydrogen Island Öhringen”, Netze BW wants to show that up to 30 percent hydrogen can already be fed into the natural gas network – without the existing infrastructure having to be extensively adapted. Hydrogen is considered a climate-friendly alternative to natural gas, especially when it is produced with the help of renewable energies. However, the technology is not yet mature enough to be used on a large scale.
Other energy suppliers, on the other hand, are increasingly turning to the fossil fuel coal. Stadtwerke Flensburg is considering not shutting down two coal-fired boilers in the winter as planned. In principle, it is right for the municipal utility “to do everything in the short term to ensure the heat supply for this winter, also taking into account the effects of increased use of coal on the environment,” the company justifies the step.
As a result, the municipal utilities have already bought more coal than originally planned and stored it on site to ensure supplies in Flensburg during the cold season. In principle, however, the use of coal for Stadtwerke Flensburg is only a temporary interim solution to cushion the consequences of possible supply bottlenecks. “We want to phase out coal combustion by 2030 at the latest,” says Managing Director Dirk Wernicke.
Stadtwerke Neumünster also wants to extend the use of coal for the time being. Actually, a new peak load boiler was supposed to go into operation in a thermal power plant there in winter, which only produces heat with gas. In view of the effects of the war in Ukraine on the energy supply, however, the plans have been adjusted, the spokesman said. So began to fill up the coal and oil stocks. A store of ready-to-use substitute fuel is also being set up, which can be used in the winter months.
In Kiel, however, there is no going back to coal. The coal-fired community power plant has been idle since April 2019, according to a spokesman for Stadtwerke Kiel. The power plant has been dismantled since the end of 2021. A restart of the coal block is therefore no longer possible. In order not to jeopardize the supply of heat to the state capital of Kiel next winter, the municipal utilities are dependent on maintaining the gas-based district heating production.