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RWE to phase out coal by 2030, eight years ahead of schedule
12/10/2022
News
Germany’s largest power producer RWE has announced it will bring forward its coal phase-out by eight years and is ready to end lignite-based electricity generation in 2030 as part of a deal reached with the government.
The decision is part of an agreement between the company and the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. At the same time, RWE has confirmed its plans to invest ‘massively’ in the energy transition.
However, faced with an ongoing Europe-wide energy crisis, RWE has said it will temporarily boost its use of power plants fuelled by brown coal and continue operating its Neurath D and E power plant units until 31 March 2024. The two units have a combined power generation capacity of 1.2 GW and were originally scheduled to be decommissioned by the end of this year.
The agreement to bring forward the lignite phase-out by eight years corresponds to a halving of the previously planned time span – which will leave around 280mn tonnes of coal in the ground, the equivalent of around 280mn tonnes of CO2, according to RWE.
The company states that in order for the coal-phase out to be possible, the energy transition must be far enough advanced by 2030 that Germany’s security of supply is not at risk. This requires a massive expansion of wind and solar power plants, storage facilities and additional secured capacity in the form of state-of-the-art gas-fired power plants that can be operated with hydrogen, it says.
RWE plans to invest more than €50bn globally in the expansion of its green core business by 2030, €15bn of which is earmarked for Germany.
Worldwide outlook
Meanwhile, in an update to its Global Coal Exit List, German environmental group Urgewald has reported that almost half of 1,000 companies assessed in the study are still developing new coal assets, and only 27 companies have announced coal exit dates consistent with international climate targets.
Worldwide, 476 GW of new coal-fired power plant capacity is planned. If these projects are implemented, global coal-fired power plant capacity will increase by 23%, the report says, with China responsible for 60% of all the planned new capacity.
‘Pursuing new coal projects in the midst of a climate emergency is reckless, irresponsible behaviour,’ comments Heffa Schucking, Director of Urgewald. ‘Investors, banks and insurers should ban these coal developers from their portfolios immediately.’
