Germany to open tenders supporting coal phase-out

Germany will hold tenders for the removal of 4 GW of coal-fired generation capacity in line with the country’s goal to exit coal by 2038.

Тhe Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) on Tuesday said the first such tender is scheduled to open on September 1. More will follow between now and 2027 in order to lower coal-based electricity generation from hard coal and small-scale lignite plants.

Hard coal plants that are still in operation and small brown coal plants of up to 150 MW will be allowed to take part in the competitions. Participants will quote a bid value at which they would stop burning coal at their plants and will, if successful, be compensated for that.

Winning candidates will sign contracts for a one-off payment of the hard coal surcharge. They will have to stop using hard coal or lignite after this happens.

The maximum price in the autumn round is set at EUR 165,000 (USD 195,000) per MW of net nominal capacity.

"The tenders create an incentive to quickly remove the most climate-damaging hard coal power plants,” said BNetzA’s head Jochen Homann, adding that the security of supply will remain guaranteed.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.182)

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