Bundestag: Coal-fired power plants as saviors in the crisis?

The federal government wants to ensure by law that coal-fired power plants can be used more frequently. The traffic light actually wanted to accelerate the phase-out of coal.

SPD faction deputy Matthias Miersch was a member of the so-called coal commission four years ago. They agreed to phase out coal by 2038 at the latest. And in the coalition agreement the SPD, Greens and FDP stipulated a good six months ago that the phase-out of coal should ideally be completed by 2030.

But now there is war in Ukraine, there is a risk of energy shortages — and the traffic light coalition is now preparing to use coal-fired power plants more intensively again. “It hurts me a lot because I still wish for a different exit path,” says Miersch.

Heat generation and industrial processes

The so-called law on the availability of replacement power plants is intended to enable the federal government to increasingly rely on coal again, at least temporarily. For example, if Russia stops supplying gas altogether, the federal government could allow power plant operators to start up coal-fired piles that are actually already in reserve and should be shut down.

The goal: The natural gas that remains in the event of an emergency should no longer be used to produce electricity, but for heat generation and industrial processes.

Greenpeace: Plans go too far

Greenpeace Managing Director Martin Kaiser calls it “bitter”. He believes that using a “moderate coal reserve” is unavoidable when there is a major gas shortage – but the government’s plans clearly went too far. The most important thing now is to save energy – above all industry, according to Kaiser. “When I think of companies like BASF, which has also successfully prevented climate protection in Germany for over 30 years, it is precisely such corporations that should now be held accountable. By saying: You have to save and you have to embark on a long-term path , which is compliant with climate protection.”

Kaiser was also a member of the coal commission. From his point of view, a maximum of a few hard coal-fired power plants should be restarted – but by no means lignite-fired power plants, which are even more harmful to the climate.

Whether and how many coal-fired power plants will actually start up is still speculation at the moment – mainly depending on the extent to which Russia reduces or even stops its gas supplies. Various projections assume around ten gigawatts of coal-fired power plant output, which could be ramped up in extreme cases. According to calculations by the Berlin management consultancy Enervis Energy, this could increase CO2 emissions in electricity generation by up to 20 percent in the coming year.

Where does the coal come from?

The head of the IG mining, chemical and energy union, Michael Vassiliadis, points out that reserve power plants cannot be restarted without further ado – if only because the power plant operators would first have to procure coal. And to bring power plants in reserve back onto the market, above all, people are needed to do it, says Vassiliadis. “And we just dismantled them. Well, we have to get some of them back and reactivate them.”

Union boss Vassiliadis was also on the coal commission. From his point of view, the plans for the energy transition have always been sewn on edge. Now things are getting serious and it shows how important a secure energy supply is.

SPD parliamentary group leader Miersch therefore now considers the expansion of renewables to be all the more urgent. The coalition will drive this forward – because a central goal remains the rapid exit from coal. “I am sure that we have the firm will in this coalition to promote renewables as much as possible. At the same time, I see good opportunities for us to return to the coal phase-out path very quickly.”