The new German Minister of Economy wants more gas power plants

Catherine Rayhene called on Friday to quickly build new gas power plants in the country to support the country’s energy supply when renewable sources are not available.

« We need flexible gas power plants that can deliver electricity when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine. And we need them quickly, » said the new German minister of the Ludwig Erhard Summit in the Bavarian Lake resort Tegerzee.

Rayhe, who is from the Conservative Christian Democratic Union of Chancellor Friedrich Mertz, said the recent interruption of the power supply of the Iberian Peninsula, stating that this showed how important such gas power plants were.

In order to do this in terms of costs, she said that « long -term gas supply contracts » and a reality of the energy transition were needed.

She added that it should be clarified whether the expansion in recent years has been ideal « or we have neglected the systematic risks and systematic costs of expanding renewable energy sources. »

Although he acknowledged that « the expansion of renewable energy sources has closer to the target for climate neutrality, » she noted the costs, including those for the expansion of the network, the obstacles to the network and the closure of coal and gas power plants.

« This will be one of my first measures. We need a type of monitoring and an honest assessment of the state of the energy transition, » she said.

« We need to reduce the electricity tax, we need to reduce gas storage fee and we need an industrial cost of electricity, although I have to say that this is a difficult node to break in Europe, » she stressed. The variety of renewable energy sources must be used, « but we should always monitor the costs. »

Reiche excluded the return to the nuclear energy that the CDU and its Bavarian nursing party Christian Social Union requested during the election campaign. « The gradual removal is complete, » she said.

Return will require not only money but also the confidence of the companies that will have to apply it, and it no longer exists. In addition, she said, it remains difficult to reach a public consensus for nuclear energy in Germany. « The possibility of returning to nuclear energy was missed during the energy crisis and » now we have to live with the situation as it is. « 

Rayhe also emphasized the urgent need for new free trade agreements to protect global trade, given the export -oriented economy of Germany. « This means that we have to conclude the relevant free trade agreements with Chile, Merkosor, India, Australia and Mexico. And I explicitly say that we also need the United States, » Ryhe said.