Status: 02.12.2022 02:05 am
The Bundestag has voted for the early exit from lignite in North Rhine-Westphalia. Instead of 2038, this should now be completed as early as 2030. At the same time, the service life of two lignite-fired power plants was extended until the end of March 2024.
The Bundestag has passed the law to phase out coal-fired power plants in North Rhine-Westphalia by 2030. During the night, parliament passed the regulations according to which the originally planned end date of 2038 will be cancelled.
During the energy crisis, however, the continued operation of two lignite-fired reactors, which were actually supposed to be shut down this year, is made possible. The two blocks Neurath D and Neurath E can run until March 2024. In September 2023, a decision will be made as to whether the term will be extended by another year. The two systems have a combined output of 1.2 gigawatts, which roughly corresponds to a nuclear power plant.
Situation for coal-fired power plants in the east unclear
According to the law and the agreement with the supplier RWE, all other coal-fired power plants in the Rhenish area should be offline by 2030. According to the current legal situation, they could have run until 2038.
Despite the changes, the planned compensation payments under the existing coal phase-out law of 2.6 billion euros are to be retained. It is unclear what will happen to lignite-fired power plants in East Germany. The end date of 2038 still applies to them. However, the traffic light coalition had agreed to “ideally” bring forward the exit in Germany overall to 2030.