German energy state sec says Hambach Forest must go for supply security

The embattled Hambach Forest has to be cut down to ensure a secure power supply for Germany, energy state secretary Thomas Bareiß said at an event organised by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) in London, Adam Vaughan writes in The Guardian. Bareiß said the clearing of anti-coal activist camps “should go ahead” as energy company RWE had “a right to do this” even though Germany’s coal exit commission is still debating the conditions for ending coal-fired power production in the country. Bareiß said Germany, which sources nearly 40 percent of power from coal, would still need its coal plants in the early 2020s. That is partly because Germany is also due to shut its last nuclear power station in 2022. “At end of the decade there is more possibility to shut coal [plants],” he said.
In a separate article by news agency Reuters, Bareiß is quoted as saying that the planned natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 between Germany and Russia is also necessary to keep supply levels safe. “I know the U.S. has concerns,” he said with a view to loud complaints by US President Donald Trump about German-Russian gas trade. “It is not so easy,” Bareiß added. “For Germany, Russia has always been a safe and reliable supplier for gas.”

Read the Guardian article in English here and the Reuters article in English here.

Find background in the factsheets on Germany’s coal exit commission and on Nord Stream 2.