Germany will be able to implement its plan for a total shift away from coal-fired power plants. The first should be to get rid of those that burn black coal. The last power plant of this type should be weaned by 2035.
At the same time as the installed capacity of coal-fired power plants is reduced, according to the German scenario, the production of electricity from brown coal-fired power plants, or lignite, will also be reduced. Completely coal-free, German energy should be able to do without coal by 2038 at the latest. The European Commission has also given the green light to the fact that the Federal Government will be able to pay compensation to the operators of these resources for gradually weaning them off.
“The phasing out of coal-fired power plants makes a major contribution to the transformation into a climate-neutral economy in line with the objectives of the European Environmental Agreement,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a press statement. Compensation or other incentives should be paid by the Federal Government by the end of 2026. According to Vestager, this does not violate the EU’s competition principles, or the proposed scenario is in line with the EU’s strategy for moving towards a carbon-neutral economy.
