The German Coal Commission has agreed to phase-out coal-fired power generation by 2038 at the latest and proposed €40bn in compensation for affected coal-mining regions. The Coal Commission (Commission for Growth, Structural Change and Employment in Germany) was set in June 2018 and included 28 members (from industry, academia, environmental groups, unions and non-voting representatives of ruling parties). The action plan will now be implemented by the German government.
The first measure involves the shut down of 12.7 GW of capacity by 2022 with compensation yet to be agreed upon. This corresponds to 24 different power plants from operators such as RWE, Uniper, EnBW and Vattenfall. Coal-fired power capacity would more than halve to 17 GW by 2030. The coal exit could be completed by 2035; the decision to accelerate the process will be made in 2032.
German utility RWE strongly opposes to the deadline established. The company estimates that the date is too early and should be reconsidered. In order to secure the domestic energy supply after the coal exit, additional investments in grids and renewable energies are required. The company's lignite business will be particularly affected as its lignite and hard coal-fired plants should be phased-out by 2022.
The is the second major intervention on the German energy market as it has already set 2022 as the end of nuclear power generation.