According to estimates by the German Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), it is possible to generate more and more electricity with coal instead of grass-fired power plants. Lignite plants can be restarted to generate electricity “in a predictable period of time”, CEO Kerstin Andreae said Monday on ARD “Morgenmagazin”.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) announced on Sunday that coal-fired power plants should be used more because of Russian supply cuts.
coal instead of gas
That would also work with coal-fired power plants, Andreae said, but enough coal would have to be available for that. “The right step is to take gas out of power generation and replace it with coal.” However, the higher CO2 emissions are a “significant problem”, explained Andreae. She suggested saving CO2 elsewhere through emissions trading in Europe.
On the Union’s proposal to let nuclear plants run longer, she said that the operators themselves fear “considerable organizational, personnel and technical consequences” in such a case. “But we are also having a discussion that everything really needs to be discussed” to reduce dependence on Russian gas. (apa/cri/cs)