Despite Climate Concerns, Germany Plans Coal Power Plants

Germany and other EU-member states agreed on a binding reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels. The EU also proposed a 30-percent cut if other nations followed suit.

There’s a hitch, though, for Germany, said Reinhard Loske, a member of the German parliament and climate expert for the Green party parliamentary group: Currently, up to 26 coal-fired power plants — which would burn either hard (anthracite) or brown (lignite) coal — are either being built right now or are in the planning stages in Germany.

“If all of those plants end up being installed, there is no way we can reach our climate protection goals for reducing emissions,” Loske said.
Of the over 20 planned coal-fired plants, 13 would be located in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) — Germany’s most densely populated state and the location of the country’s largest coal reserves.

Loske said estimates show that NRW would produce more CO2 emissions per year than all of Switzerland, if all the units planned for the state were built.

According to the German environmental organization Umwelthilfe (Environmental Aid), brown coal-powered plants in Germany produce 950 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour, while hard coal plants produce 750 grams. New gas-powered plants produce 365 grams.

“No one who takes climate change seriously can now accept over 20 coal-fired power plants being built in this country,” Loske said.

Deutsche Welle