Germany’s largest natural gas storage chamber extends under a tract of farmland the size of nine football fields in the western part of the country. The rural area has become something of a battlefield in Europe’s attempt to defend itself against an impending gas crisis led by Russia.
Since last month, the German government has been pumping fuel into the sprawling underground site in Rehden at a rapid rate, hoping to fill it in time for the winter, when demand for gas to heat homes and businesses rises.
The scene is repeated at storage facilities across the continent, in an energy joust between Europe and Russia that has escalated since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
In the latest sign that Moscow appears to be planning to punish Europe for sanctions and military aid to Ukraine, Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled energy giant, last week cut by 60 percent the amount of gas it supplies through Nord Stream 1. critical pipeline connecting Germany and other countries. It’s not clear whether the restriction is a precursor to a complete shutdown.
This move has made efforts in Germany, Italy and elsewhere to build gas supplies more urgent in a crucial effort to moderate stratospheric prices, reduce Moscow’s political clout and avoid the possibility of shortages this winter. Gazprom’s actions have also forced many countries to relax restrictions on power plants that burn coal, a major source of greenhouse gases.