Germany's coal exit talks founder on compensation dispute
2019-11-21 16:23:50 [Print]
Discussions are faltering about how to shut down Germany's lignite coal industry as company executives and government ministers struggle to agree over the politically charged issue of how to compensate industry for plant shutdowns.
Ten months after Germany set out a road map to exit coal by 2038, officials and the main utilities remain at loggerheads over setting a price for closing down operations, according to at least five people with direct knowledge of the deliberations. The government already missed a self-imposed target to have legislation ready in October and is unlikely to settle the matter before the end of this year, the people said.
Germany is shutting down both its nuclear and coal power plants, which together generate about half the nation's electricity. The government wants to cut lignite and hard coal capacity by some 5 gigawatts each by 2023. Hard coal plants are required to enter auctions to win compensation, while lignite plants and the mines that feed them are, according to draft legislation, due to be closed in separate agreements with operators.
The discussions are now snagging on the price that the government will pay to compensate for shutting down coal operations.
Ten months after Germany set out a road map to exit coal by 2038, officials and the main utilities remain at loggerheads over setting a price for closing down operations, according to at least five people with direct knowledge of the deliberations. The government already missed a self-imposed target to have legislation ready in October and is unlikely to settle the matter before the end of this year, the people said.
Germany is shutting down both its nuclear and coal power plants, which together generate about half the nation's electricity. The government wants to cut lignite and hard coal capacity by some 5 gigawatts each by 2023. Hard coal plants are required to enter auctions to win compensation, while lignite plants and the mines that feed them are, according to draft legislation, due to be closed in separate agreements with operators.
The discussions are now snagging on the price that the government will pay to compensate for shutting down coal operations.
