After the exploratory talks between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, the investor Enkraft is calling on RWE to propose how the energy transition can succeed as quickly as possible.
The activist investor Enkraft Capital has asked the energy company RWE against the background of exploratory talks by the SPD, Greens and FDP to accelerate the coal phase-out. “In Germany there is a clear political and social consensus that the phase-out of lignite must be accelerated. The RWE executive board still seems to be lagging behind,” said Enkraft managing director Benedikt Kormaier. It is now RWE’s turn to make suggestions on how to achieve the goal of phasing out lignite-based power generation as quickly as possible.
In their exploratory paper, the traffic light parties had spoken out in favor of an exit from coal before 2038. “In order to meet the climate protection goals, an accelerated phase-out of coal-based power generation is necessary. Ideally, this will be achieved by 2030,” says the paper. To this end, the expansion of renewable energies must be accelerated, as well as the planning and approval procedures.
It was good that the parties wanted to tackle the urgent tasks resolutely and quickly, said RWE. The utility believes that many of the content-related ideas, such as the faster expansion of renewable energies and the addition of gas systems for security of supply, are correct. RWE also expressly welcomes the acceleration of planning and approval procedures. “Now we have to wait and see what further details will emerge from the coalition negotiations.” On the subject of “phasing out coal in 2030”, the group has already stated that this will be feasible if the pace of expansion of renewable energies is increased enormously and many additional gas-fired power plants are built. “Just switching off, on the other hand, would jeopardize the security of supply in Germany.”
Enkraft sees RWE in the current structure, including lignite, as undervalued. “From a company perspective and from a value perspective, a quick exit makes a lot of sense. An RWE that focuses purely on renewable energies will be valued significantly higher than the company in its current structure.” As a solution, Enkraft suggests: “In the end, the federal government and the states could take control of the remaining activities and the renaturation, either directly or through a foundation, and thus secure the supply but also control the timetable for the cessation of coal-fired power generation.”
Enkraft had already spoken out in September after the investor had bought more than 500,000 shares in RWE. With his demand for a quick separation of the lignite activities, he had received encouragement from other RWE investors.