Germany agrees to coal plant retrofits to fulfil EU emission limits

The German government has agreed to implement a decision by the European Commission on emission limits for power plants and industry facilities by 2021, meaning that many coal plants will have to undergo costly retrofitting, Jakob Schlandt writes in energy policy newsletter Tagesspiegel Background. “Energy company RWE alone is looking at figures surpassing 100 million euros and total costs could be in the billions,” Schlandt says. About two-thirds of coal plants in Germany exceed EU emission limits. According to Hanns Koenig of consultancy Aurora Energy Research, retrofitting is still more economical for most plants than decommissioning. However, Green Party co-leader Annalena Baerbock called for the issue to be included in the general debate over Germany’s coal exit.

See the factsheet Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions and climate targets for more information.