The European Commission has cleared German plans to grant €1.6bn public financing for mothballing and subsequently closing eight lignite-fired power plants, considering this measure was in line with EU state aid rules.
In November 2015, Germany notified the EU that it would mothball and close the Buschhaus (operated by Mibrag), Frimmersdorf P, Frimmersdorf Q, Niederaußem E, Niederaußem F, Neurath C (all operated by RWE), Jänschwalde F and Jänschwalde E power plants (both operated by Vattenfall), with the first plant scheduled to stop operating in October 2016 and the last in October 2019. The operators of these power plants would be compensated for foregone profits as they cannot continue to sell electricity on the market.
The European Commission concluded that the measure promotes EU environmental objectives, as it helps Germany to achieve its CO2 emission target, without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market. The closure is expected to reduce CO2 emissions in Germany by 11-12.5 Mt/year as of 2020, i.e. more than half the additional contribution that the German energy sector still needs to make in order to meet the national emission target for 2020. In December 2014, the German Government had announced that it will reduce Germany's CO2-emissions by 40% by 2020.
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