France is turning on its coal plants to get through the energy crisis

More On: France

France's government said that it will start up a coal-fired plant this winter after the heads of three power companies told them to.

The French government plans to turn on a coal-powered power plant in the north-east of the country this winter. This is to help deal with energy insecurity caused in part by ongoing hostilities with Russia.

The news that the Saint-Avold will be brought back online comes soon after the heads of three of France's biggest energy companies said that people should cut back on their energy use "immediately" to help the government deal with energy insecurity.

The coal-fired plant is being put back into service "as a precaution, given the situation in Ukraine," according to the broadcaster RTL.

Le Figaro says that officials have said they will include "environmental compensation" in the plan to reopen the plant. The publication says that the government has asked for the plant to reopen in a way that doesn't hurt the environment.

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In order to meet this green demand, the plant's owner will do things like plant trees as part of the reopening.

Green Fail: Dependent on Russian Gas, Now Germany Fires Up Coal Power Stations https://t.co/ojbQAd6eeI
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The decision to reopen the plant comes soon after the heads of France's three biggest energy companies, Engie, EDF, and TotalEnergies, told the public that they needed to start saving energy right away to protect the country's energy situation.

The power tsars wrote, "If we act this summer, we will be better prepared for next winter and will be able to keep our gas reserves." "We therefore call for awareness and group and individual action so that each of us – each consumer and each company – changes their behavior and immediately cuts back on how much energy, electricity, gas, and petroleum products they use."

They went on to say, "The effort must be immediate, collective, and massive," and they stressed that "every gesture" toward this goal "counts."

Germany, which cares a lot about the environment, has also said that it will increase the amount of coal it burns to better deal with the current energy crisis. Robert Habeck, the country's economic and climate tsar, said that the changes are needed to save much-needed gas.

"To cut down on gas use, less gas needs to be used to make electricity. "Instead, more coal-fired power plants will have to be used," he had said before, though he did admit that he found it "bitter" that his government, which had a green agenda, had to use such a high-emission fuel.

The official, on the other hand, is adamant that Germany's nuclear power plants, of which the last three will be shut down by the end of the year, will not be used to make up for problems with the energy supply, even though everyone wants Germany to keep them running.

The situation is so bad that even people who care a lot about the environment in the EU are now telling Germany to keep using the plants.

The Internal Market tsar, Thierry Breton, was quoted as saying, "Germany still has three nuclear power plants running, which is equal to 25% of their electricity use."

"Instead of deciding to cut them at the end of the year, as the coalition agreements say, we could say to ourselves that we'll keep them for a year or two to solve this problem," he said.

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