“Poland, as well as Finland and the Baltic states, are well prepared for a cut-off of gas supplies by Russia because they have long been aware of such a danger – says Thomas O’Donnell, an energy market analyst and lecturer at the private Berlin Hertie School of Governance.
“Poland, and the Baltic states, are well prepared for a cut-off of gas supplies by Russia, because since 2017 they have been working on connecting with new pipelines, and before that – access to LNG, storage facilities, supplies from Norway,” O’Donnell argues.
He points out that Finland has leased a regasification ship from an American company that will deliver 5 billion cubic metres of LNG per year, which is enough not only for its own needs but also for Estonia.
“These countries are well prepared because they had no illusions about Russia. On the other hand, Germany has done exactly the opposite and has become even more dependent on Russian gas imports,” the expert stipulates.
“Paradoxically, German ‘green fundamentalism’ is part of the problem. It promotes the hypothesis that a switch to 100 per cent renewable energy sources without nuclear power is a viable alternative to Russian raw materials. The problem, however, is that this cannot be done. The obstacle is the lack of appropriate technologies – the lack of a grid and power storage capacity – and nature itself – its unpredictability. Investments in renewable energy sources make sense if they constitute around 20-24% of the energy mix,” explains the analyst.
“Therefore, “green fundamentalists” talk about gas as a temporary, additional source of energy. In reality – as the example of Germany shows – this is not a temporary situation, but a state of permanent dependence on gas from Russia,” concludes Thomas O’Donnell.