Power generation
Ministry presents funding plans for new power plants

In future, the power plants will step in when electricity demand cannot be met by renewable energies. (Archive image) Photo
© Oliver Berg/dpa
In Germany, more and more electricity is to be generated from wind and solar power in the future. But this is where things fluctuate. And this is where the federal government wants gas-fired power plants to come into play.
The Federal Ministry of Economics is pushing ahead with plans for state support for new Gas-fired power plants and the modernization of existing plants. In future, the power plants will step in when electricity demand cannot be met by renewable energies. In addition, the switch to more climate-friendly hydrogen will be promoted.
Electricity system to be geared towards more renewables
“In this way, we are making the electricity system fit for high proportions of renewable energies and are also securing ourselves for times when there is little wind and sun,” said Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). Experts, associations and companies can now comment on the key points of the new Power Plant Safety Act within six weeks.
Initially, power plant capacities of 12.5 gigawatts (GW) will be put out to tender for funding, as well as 500 megawatts (MW) of long-term storage. The gas-fired power plants are to be equipped for a later conversion to more climate-friendly hydrogen, and some pure hydrogen power plants are also to be funded.
According to FDP parliamentary group vice-chairman Lukas Köhler, the power plant strategy will create the basis “to continue to supply every company and every household in Germany with affordable energy at any time and in any weather in the future”.
What should be promoted
In detail, the plan is to support 5 GW of new hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants and 2 GW of hydrogen-capable modernizations. These are to be operated with “green” or “blue” hydrogen from the eighth year after commissioning or modernization at the latest. “Green” hydrogen is produced using renewable energies, and in the production of “blue” hydrogen, climate-damaging CO2 is captured and stored underground.
In addition, there will be 500 MW of pure hydrogen power plants that will run immediately on hydrogen and 500 MW of long-term storage. There is also a funding pillar for a further 5 GW of new gas-fired power plants – the ministry assumes that these will also be built to be hydrogen-capable.
The whole thing is also intended as a precursor to the so-called capacity mechanism planned for 2028. In the future, this will secure the power supply during periods of darkness. These are periods when the sun is not shining and there is little wind – and therefore hardly any energy is generated from these sources. Power plant operators would then be rewarded for keeping capacities available for when needed – even if they are rarely used.
Where new power plants are to be built
New power plants are to be promoted primarily in the “grid south”. By this, the ministry means the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, which are further away from the large wind farms in northern Germany. This is intended to increase stability in the power grid and reduce costs that arise when power plants have to adjust their output to avoid bottlenecks in the power grid (redispatch).
The spokesman for the management of the East German transmission system operator 50Hertz, Stefan Kapferer, warned: “It is crucial that the power plants are built where they support the electricity grid, which also includes East Germany. However, it is already clear that the quantities that are now to be put out to tender will not be enough.”
The FDP parliamentary group’s energy policy spokesman, Michael Kruse, demanded that the planned capacity market be moved quickly. “Otherwise, electricity prices in Germany will definitely get out of control.” The Chemical Industry Association (VCI) is also putting pressure on the issue. “It is unclear how the provision of power plant capacity will be remunerated – regardless of whether it is ultimately needed.” As long as there are not enough new power plants available, no further secured capacity – for example from coal-fired power plants – should be switched off.
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