LIGHTS OUT, OVENS OFF
Europe warms up to idea of preparing for winter energy crisis amid war in Ukraine
FRANKFURT, Germany — As Europe heads into winter in the throes of an energy crisis, offices are getting chillier. Statues and historic buildings are going dark. Bakers who can’t afford to heat their ovens are talking about giving up, while fruit and vegetable growers face letting greenhouses stand idle.
In poorer Eastern Europe, people are stocking up on firewood, while in wealthier Germany, the wait for an energy-saving heat pump can take half a year. And businesses don’t know how much more they can cut back.
With costs high and energy supplies tight, Europe is rolling out relief programs and plans to shake up electricity and natural gas markets as it prepares for rising energy use this winter. The question is whether it will be enough to avoid government-imposed rationing and rolling blackouts after
Russia cut back natural gas needed to heat homes, run factories and generate electricity to a tenth of what it was before invading Ukraine.
In response, governments have worked hard to find new supplies and conserve energy, with gas storage facilities now 86% full ahead of the winter heating season — beating the goal of 80% by November.
Europe’s ability to get through the winter may depend on how cold it is and what happens in China. Shutdowns aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19 have idled large parts of China’s economy and meant less competition for scarce energy supplies. Even if there is gas this winter, high prices already are pushing people and businesses to use less and forcing some energy-intensive factories like glassmakers to close.
It’s a decision also facing fruit and vegetable growers in the Netherlands who are key to Europe’s winter food supply: shutter greenhouses or take a loss after costs skyrocketed for gas heating and electric light.
Bosch Growers, which grows green peppers and blackberries, has put up extra insulation, idled one greenhouse and experimented with lower temperatures.
The cost? Smaller yields, blackberries taking longer to ripen, and potentially operating in the red to maintain customer relationships even at lower volumes.
“We are in survival mode,” said Wouter van den Bosch, the sixth generation of his family to help run the business.
Andreas Schmitt, a baker in Frankfurt, Germany, is heating fewer ovens at his 25 Cafe Ernst bakeries, running them longer to spare startup energy, narrowing his pastry selection to ensure ovens run full, and storing less dough to cut refrigeration costs. That might save 5% to 10% off an energy bill that is set to rise from $300,000 to $1.1 million next year.
Governments have lined up additional gas supply from pipelines running to Norway and Azerbaijan and ramped up their purchase of expensive liquefied natural gas that comes by ship, largely from the U.S.
But environmentalists and the EU itself say renewables are the way out long term.
Neighbors in Madrid looking to cut electricity costs installed solar panels this month.
“I have suddenly reduced my gas consumption by 40%, with very little use of three radiators strategically placed in the house,” neighbor Manuel Ruiz said.