Germany cannot afford ‘not in my backyard’ approach on CO2 storage – official
Clean Energy Wire
Germans must be more open to onshore carbon storage near their home, as the country needs the technology to reach climate targets, said Frank Wetzel, state secretary in the economy ministry.
"We will realign the energy transition to a certain extent,” Wetzel said at a conference organised by consultancy Aurora Energy Research in Berlin. The economy ministry aimed to focus more on pragmatism, signals from the market economy, and technology openness. “This also includes technologies such as carbon capture in a broader sense […] and that ‘not in my backyard’ cannot be the right policy,” he said.
The economy ministry told Clean Energy Wire that in regard to achieving the climate targets, the state secretary's statement meant that "the option of onshore storage of captured CO2 should also be given greater consideration."
The government recently proposed a reform of Germany’s carbon storage legislation to pave the way for the large-scale application of carbon capture and storage (CCS) or utilisation (CCU) as part of climate action efforts. The draft reform, which must now be approved by parliament, would allow carbon storage under the seabed, permit construction of pipelines to transport CO2 and effectively rule out the use of CCS on coal-fired power plants while allowing it for gas plants. The revised law would not mean blanket permission for onshore storage, but allow federal states to opt in.
The economy ministry said that since Germany is rather densely populated, conflicts of interest may arise in various areas, for example with the expansion of wind energy. The government aimed to address these differences through a regulatory framework while also aiming to improve acceptance of the measures. “However, it is clear that we need to further expand renewable energies, power plants, and grids to ensure a sustainable and secure energy supply,” said the ministry.
At the conference, Wetzel made clear that the government would have to ask more from citizens also regarding electricity grid expansion. In future grid expansion projects, the government should be "cautious" about underground cabling solutions as these could quadruples the costs, he said. “We must therefore also call on the solidarity of the local population. With ‘not in my backyard,’ we will not be able to achieve the great efforts required.”
Germany in the past decided to build parts of key electricity transmission lines underground to mitigate conflicts with local residents. However, as this option is significantly more expensive than overhead lines, the new government agreed that new high-voltage direct current electricity transmission lines should be built above-ground where possible.
