Germany agrees with the EU on 12 GW power plant tender in 2026

Germany has reached an agreement in principle with the European Commission on plans to build new power plants, under which it will tender 12 GW of new capacity in 2026, with a focus on gas-fired plants (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action statement, 15/01/2026).

The bulk of the new capacity, around 10 GW, must be capable of generating electricity over extended periods to ensure a stable power supply, the ministry said, adding that this would include, but not be limited to, gas-fired power plants. According to the statement, these long-duration capacities, such as, but not exclusively, modern and highly efficient gas-fired power plants, are required to enter operation by 2031 at the latest. Further tenders for dispatchable capacity are planned for 2027 and 2029-2030. These tenders will also be open to existing power plants, seeking the capacity to be available by 2031 at the latest.

“In order to further decarbonise the power plant fleet in a targeted manner, additional measures are to incentivise an early switch to hydrogen, so that 2 GW of power plant capacity will be converted to hydrogen as early as 2040 and a further 2 GW of power plant capacity as early as 2043”, the statement added.  All new power plants are expected to be capable of running on hydrogen by 2045 at the latest, in line with Germany’s goal of achieving climate neutrality that year.

However, the state aid procedure has not yet been concluded. Following the submission of the draft legislation, the power plant strategy will still require final approval by the European Commission under EU state aid rules.