Enlarge image
Grevenbroich-Neurath lignite-fired power plant: coal-fired power as a lifeline
Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa
In view of the energy transition and climate protection plans, lignite-fired power plants were actually obsolete models.
But the gas crisis resulting from the Ukraine war led to a renaissance of the controversial reactor.
In order to be able to let the coal-fired power plants run longer, RWE is stopping the early retirement of employees who were actually supposed to take early retirement with the shutdown of lignite blocks.
»RWE Power will adapt its personnel planning in power plants and opencast mines to the new level of operational readiness.
That includes several hundred jobs,” said an RWE spokeswoman for the “Rheinische Post”.
»The foreseeable increase in personnel requirements will be covered by the fact that some employees will only be able to take early retirement later than previously planned via the so-called adjustment allowance.
Furthermore, the need for personnel should be covered by hiring trained people and from the external labor market.«
RWE Power has three 300-megawatt power plant blocks that are currently on so-called security standby and can be restarted at the request of the federal government: Niederaussem E and F and Neurath C.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) wants to reduce the use of gas for power generation and industry in view of reduced Russian deliveries.
More coal-fired power plants are to be used for this.
They are intended to replace electricity generation from power plants fired with natural gas as far as possible.
The filling of the gas storage tanks is to be promoted.
"Emissions will initially increase"
According to experts, the increased use of charcoal piles will also be reflected in the CO2 balance.
Experts from the Agora Energiewende think tank expect rising greenhouse gas emissions.
"Due to the short-term, increased use of coal to replace gas, emissions will initially increase in this year, but will probably also increase in the coming years," said Simon Müller, Germany director of Agora, the "Rheinische Post".
According to Agora director Müller, the plan to generate more electricity from coal in the short term can be "at best a short-term emergency measure" that must be compensated for, among other things, by "a faster expansion of renewable energies".
The Greens in the Bundestag justify Habeck's plans.
Economic politician Dieter Janecek told the "Rheinische Post" that nobody wanted that.
But the "only way" to guarantee "supply security for households and industry in the coming winter".
At the same time, the pace of the expansion of renewables is being "drastically" increased and every lever is being set in motion to save more energy, added the economic policy spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag.
Janecek also expressed optimism that the situation would improve as early as next year.
mmq/Reuters/dpa/AFP