Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s Special Envoy for International Climate Action, said that Germany is likely to phase out its coal-fired power stations before the legally mandated date of 2038 due to worsening economics for coal plants.
Germany reached a €2.6 billion agreement with RWE in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2022 for the company to close its coal-fired power plants by 2030. However, it has not yet reached a similar agreement with LEAG , which currently supplies 7 GW of lignite-fired power, around 10 per cent of Germany’s total supply.
Morgan said: “If you look at the modelling now and the calculations, it looks like the phase out will likely occur before 2038 just due to economic viability.”