Reiner Haseloff rejects earlier exit from coal

The Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff (CDU), rejects a coal phase-out for his state by 2030. "I don't think it's feasible to phase out cabbage by 2030," Haseloff told the newspapers of the Funke media group on Wednesday. "The legal situation and a general phase-out in 2038 is realistic."

The exit in 2038 was decided with a broad social consensus, said Haseloff. "We shouldn't question that, because we need planning security." This is of the utmost importance for companies.

The existing capacities must be kept in the network right now, Haseloff said, otherwise there is a risk of another shortage. "However, the future viability and competitiveness of our companies depends crucially on a secure energy supply and competitive prices." An exit before 2038 would "sustainably weaken Germany as an industrial location".

The phase-out of coal in the Rhenish mining area in North Rhine-Westphalia, on the other hand, is to be brought forward by eight years to 2030. In view of the current energy crisis, two lignite-fired power plants are to run longer than previously planned. The Lützerath settlement, which is a symbol of the climate protection movement, is to be demolished in order to mine coal there. These are the cornerstones of an agreement presented on Tuesday between the Federal Ministry of Economics, the NRW Ministry of Economics and the energy company RWE.

The agreement stipulates that the RWE coal-fired power plants Neurath F and G and Niederaussem K with a total of 3,000 megawatts will go offline at the end of March 2030. According to the current law, this is currently planned until the end of 2038.

In order to save gas in the short term in view of the energy price crisis in electricity generation, more lignite is to be used. The Neurath D and E power plant blocks, which were actually supposed to be shut down by the end of 2022, are now to remain in operation until the end of March 2024 - with the option for another year. Hard coal and lignite-fired power plants have already been taken out of reserve during the energy crisis. In order to accelerate the energy transition, RWE wants to build new, hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants.