Robert Habeck: 15 coal-fired energy vegetation will likely be shut down – “Superfluous and can finally be taken off the grid” | EUROtoday

Status: 5:25 p.m | Reading time: 2 minutes

NAfter the shutdown of a number of coal-fired energy vegetation, Economics Minister Robert Habeck believes that Germany's vitality provide stays safe and is extra unbiased than earlier than the Ukraine warfare. “Several coal-fired power plants that were still on the grid as a precautionary measure over the last two years are now superfluous and can finally be taken off the grid,” the Green politician informed the German Press Agency on Monday. The costs for electrical energy and fuel have fallen considerably and, because of the enlargement of renewable energies, the electrical energy “now comes mostly from clean, climate-friendly sources,” stated Habeck.

Over Easter, the plug was pulled on a number of energy vegetation that, based on the unique plans, had been now not imagined to be in use: At the flip of the month, a number of lignite-fired energy vegetation had been lastly shut down. A complete of seven energy plant blocks had been shut down within the Rhenish Revier and in Brandenburg, because the vitality corporations RWE and Leag confirmed on Easter Sunday. In complete, these blocks had an output of round 3.1 gigawatts.

In addition, eight medium-sized and smaller exhausting coal vegetation with a complete output of 1.3 gigawatts have lastly been taken off the grid, the Ministry of Economic Affairs stated on Monday, citing info from the Federal Network Agency.

additionally learn

These additionally briefly produced electrical energy once more so as to scale back fuel consumption over the previous two years. These embody the Mehrum exhausting coal energy plant within the Peine district.

“Neither necessary nor economical”

The closure of the facility vegetation had already been deliberate earlier. However, after the outbreak of the warfare in Ukraine, Germany needed to change into unbiased of Russian fuel: the federal authorities allowed a number of items of coal-fired energy vegetation to run longer than deliberate or took them out of reserve so as to use them to generate electrical energy and save pure fuel. At the top of winter 2023/24 it would lastly be over.

additionally learn

Due to the numerous enlargement of renewable energies and the stabilization of the fuel provide state of affairs, the continued operation of the facility plant blocks is “neither necessary nor economical,” stated the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

According to the Federal Network Agency, there have been a complete of 245 gigawatts of electrical energy technology programs in the marketplace in Germany in November. Of this, round 159 gigawatts got here from renewable vitality sources.

additionally learn

Transformation & Brandschatzung

According to a press release, Green Party member of the Bundestag Kathrin Henneberger stated: “In view of the worsening climate crisis, the closure of coal-fired power plants is an important measure to reduce greenhouse gases.”

The Federal Ministry of Economics is legally obliged to verify how a lot further greenhouse fuel was emitted by the continued operation of coal-fired energy vegetation. It should suggest measures by the top of June to offset these further emissions. The Ministry of Economic Affairs identified that regardless of further coal-fired energy technology, it had fallen to a document low because the Sixties and that CO₂ emissions within the vitality sector nonetheless fell by 20 p.c final yr.