Power station operators want stress test of coal exit

The government should run a stress test of Germany’s power supply security before switching off up to seven gigawatts worth of power station capacity, as has been suggested during the coalition talks of Angela Merkel’s CDU with the Greens and the pro-business FDP, Joachim Rumstadt, chairman of the executive board at energy utility STEAG told Daniel Wetzel at Die Welt. An inofficial paper from the energy ministry had explained that overcapacities in Germany and neighbouring countries made it possible to shut down old coal plants without risking black-outs, but representatives from the power sector are criticising the assumptions these calculations are based on.

Read the article in German here.

See the CLEW factsheet Coal in Germany for more information.