Energy Association: Major time pressure for new gas-fired power plants

The German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) has called on the future German government to quickly clarify the construction of new hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants. "We really do have time pressure here," said Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the BDEW Executive Board, at a conference in Cottbus on infrastructure development in the Lusatian and Central German coalfields. "We really need (...) a tendering framework for these new gas-fired power plants very quickly now." The Federal Government must act very quickly here, said Andreae. This is also necessary in order to complete the agreed coal phase-out in Lusatia.

Funding still open

How the state will fund the construction of new gas-fired power plants is still unclear. The plans of Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) failed due to the premature break-up of the previous traffic light government. In future, gas-fired power plants are to be available as a backup when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. The timing of the coal phase-out also depends on this. The gas-fired power plants are to be converted to more climate-friendly hydrogen at a later date.

The companies have an interest in investing in this new, more economical alternative, but they need an investment framework for this, said Andreae. The construction of new gas-fired power plants will also take several years. "There is an approximate time frame that you need six years between planning, approval and construction."

Coal phase-out planned in the 2030s

According to the German Coal Phase-out Act, no more electricity will be generated from coal in Lusatia from 2038 at the latest. The energy company Leag in Cottbus is planning a far-reaching conversion to renewable energies in the coal mining region. In the Rhenish mining area, the coal phase-out has been brought forward by eight years to 2030.