Woidke against early exit from coal by 2030 as in NRW

Created: 07/10/2022 05:31

Steam rises from the cooling towers of the Jänschwalde power plant.

© Patrick Pleul/dpa/archive image

Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) rejects an early phase-out of lignite by 2030, similar to that in North Rhine-Westphalia.

“The security of the energy supply is now the priority.

Our Lusatian lignite makes an indispensable contribution here,” said Woidke of the German Press Agency in Potsdam.

Potsdam - The Greens state chairwoman Julia Schmidt had called for a faster end to the coal phase-out for Brandenburg on Twitter on Tuesday.

The coal phase-out in the Rhenish mining area in North Rhine-Westphalia is to be brought forward by eight years to 2030 - this was agreed by the Federal Ministry of Economics, the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs and the energy company RWE.

In view of the energy crisis, two lignite-fired power plants are to run longer than previously planned.

In order to accelerate the energy transition, RWE wants to build new, hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants.

In the coal compromise of 2020, it was agreed to phase out lignite-fired power generation in Germany by 2038 at the latest.

A possible early end date is 2035. In Jänschwalde in Lusatia, the operator Leag has just restarted a block in the lignite power plant to provide more electricity, a second is to follow.

Brandenburg's head of government warned against the construction of gas-fired power plants.

"New gas-fired power plants are neither climate-neutral nor do they bring us economic and social stability," said Woidke.

“New gas-fired power plants lead to higher energy prices.

They mean permanent dependence on foreign countries and a move away from a climate-neutral future.

Instead of relying on gas power plants, we finally need a faster expansion of renewable energies in order to achieve energy independence.” dpa