Overview
- RWE CEO Markus Krebber said on Thursday that the company remains committed to ending lignite power generation in the Rheinisches Revier on 31 March 2030 while signalling it could hold up to three coal blocks in reserve if the government requests and finances that option.
- The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs postponed the legally required 15 August review and will wait for this year’s capacity-auction results before publishing its assessment, creating short-term policy uncertainty about whether a coal reserve is needed.
- RWE has made clear that any post-2030 reserve must be organised and paid for by the state, including the purchase of CO2 allowances, and that RWE would only keep plants available on a cost-reimbursement basis.
- RWE says it needs prompt political clarity because keeping plants on standby requires changes to maintenance plans, investments to keep units operable, extended staffing measures and continued mine management.
- The dispute sits on top of plans to add roughly 11 gigawatts of gas-fired backup capacity by end-2031 and a 2022 tripartite agreement that set NRW’s lignite exit for 2030 and Germany’s national coal exit for 2038, which will shape any final government decision.