Germany plans to review whether it should reactivate backup coal plants in an effort to lower energy prices that have remained elevated since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, Bloomberg News reported.
Lawmakers from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party, along with their coalition partner, the Social Democrats, agreed to the move as part of a package of energy measures after a parliamentary debate on Friday.
The move marks a reversal of Germany’s earlier efforts and comes nearly five years after the German government and regional leaders agreed on a plan to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2038.
What does the development mean for Germany?
The overview shows that the largest European economy can once again rely on brown coal (lignite), which is also considered a dirty fossil fuel, in times of crisis. Before plans to phase out coal, it powered about one-third of Germany’s electricity, with more than half of that dependent on burning lignite, the BBC previously reported. Germany was also the world’s largest producer of brown coal.
Since losing Russian pipeline gas supplies in 2022, the country has been forced to source energy at higher prices and now relies heavily on liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies.
“If we look at the markets in the long term, we face a problem if prices remain high – not only for oil, but also for gas,” said Sepp Müller, vice-chairman of the ruling conservative party’s parliamentary caucus.
“That’s why we’re asking the federal government to bring coal-fired power plants back into operation from standby to reduce overall gas consumption,” Bloomberg News quoted him as saying.
The application is being reviewed
The economy ministry and the energy regulator have been instructed to review the request, Müller said, adding that a final decision will be announced within the next few weeks.
The review concerns the reactivation of the stock, which currently stands at 8.8 gigawatts, with three-quarters of the capacity coming from hard coal. It also includes lignite-fired power plants that have already been decommissioned, the agency said.
Parliamentary groups also urged the German government to review other measures aimed at reducing energy prices, such as a windfall tax on oil company profits, a potential fuel price cap, cuts in vehicle and fuel taxes, cuts in electricity taxes for households and the introduction of a temporary commuter allowance, Bloomberg News reported.
