A secure power supply would be guaranteed even if coal were completely phased out by 2030 – this is the conclusion of a report by the Federal Network Agency. The report is a topic in the cabinet this Wednesday. It states that the secure supply of electricity is guaranteed in the period 2025 to 2031 – despite the increasing power consumption by heat pumps, electric vehicles or electrolysers and also with a complete phase-out of coal by 2030.
“This means that the very high level of security of supply in Germany, even in a European comparison, can be maintained,” says a paper that was available to the German Press Agency. In the Rhenish mining area, the phase-out of coal is being brought forward by eight years to 2030, but this is controversial in the east German mining areas. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had spoken out in favor of an earlier phase-out of coal in the east as well. An early exit to 2030 must be agreed by consensus, said Habeck.
The government’s decision that the three remaining nuclear power plants will be shut down in mid-April is also controversial. The Federal Network Agency’s report on monitoring the security of electricity supply is published by the Federal Government every two years. The report considers the developments that can be expected for the market and the network and is not aimed at analyzing crisis scenarios. It should therefore be clearly separated from the parallel needs and system analyzes of the transmission system operators. This is currently being developed and will be presented in April.
The recommendations for action by the Ministry of Economic Affairs for the report by the Federal Network Agency state that the expansion of renewable energies must be further promoted in order to continue to guarantee the security of supply at the highest level. Hydrogen, bioenergy and gas power plants would have to be newly built or modernized. For this purpose, a “Power Plant Strategy 2026” should be presented in the near future. This should set the framework for the construction of new power plants in this decade to support the transformation towards hydrogen. Planning and approval procedures for the expansion of the power grid should be further accelerated.