Federal government expands funding programs for coal regions

The federal government wants to expand the scope for state funding programs in the former coal regions and thus accelerate structural change. From now on, direct investments in company relocations should also be possible, such as funds for the establishment of the solar industry, said Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) on Monday at the East German Economic Forum in Bad Saarow, Brandenburg. In Dresden, Saxony's Energy Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens) spoke of an "important signal to the coal-mining regions".

"The greater flexibility will benefit the transition to a climate-neutral economy in the coal-mining regions. The funds can then also be used to support domestic production capacities for technologies that Europe urgently needs for the transition towards climate neutrality," emphasized the Minister. Making the funding more flexible would be suitable for accelerating structural change. "This is all the more important as electricity from lignite is already becoming increasingly uneconomical. This means that, regardless of the statutory coal phase-out by 2038 at the latest, coal-fired electricity will disappear from the market before then anyway."