- Germany’s Coal Commission’s draft report recommends gradual closure of country’s coal-fired power stations leading up to 2038.
- The same report reveals that they could be converted to giant storage units from the mid-2020s for storing surplus wind and solar power.
- The move comes as Germany seeks a smooth transition to a clean-energy economy.
Germany’s dirtiest power plants may avoid the scrap heap in the nation’s coal exit by getting refashioned as giant batteries for storing wind and solar power according to Bloomberg News
The Energy Ministry proposal is being weighed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition to help ease the phase out of coal-fired generation in two regions where the fossil fuel is a major prop to the economy and jobs.
Her administration promised in February some 40 billion euros ($45 billion) in aid to smooth coal’s 18-year wind down that starts next year.
Germany’s Coal Commission’s draft report recommends gradual closure of country’s coal-fired power stations leading up to 2038.
The Rhine lignite belt in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia and Lusatia in Brandenburg and Saxony host eight big power plants owned by RWE AGand LEAG GmbH. The plants and mining operations support thousands of jobs and Merkel is seeking a smooth transition to a clean-energy economy for both areas.
The storage units “could be converted from the mid-2020s to innovative, long-term power plants storing surplus wind and solar power,” the Economy and Energy Ministry said in its 32-page report on coal phaseout planning.
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Author: GBA News Desk
