Germany's RWE auctions off massive coal digger

The energy firm RWE is auctioning off a mammoth coal digger known as a bucket wheel excavator, WirtschaftsWoche writes. The “Bagger 275” machine, which is 38 meters high and weighs some 3,500 tons, is available for purchase through the Hamburg auction house Wilhelm Dechow. The machines are used in open-cast lignite mining, such as the Garzweiler mine in North Rhine-Westphalia. The digger, built by Krupp in 1959, is capable of clearing 60,000 cubic metres per day, the report states. It is being put up for sale in the auction, which will run until the end of September, as part of its decommissioning. 

RWE, one of Germany's largest utility companies, is trying to move increasingly into renewables as Germany pushes forward with its coal-exit, which aims to end the use of the fossil fuel no later than 2038. Its production from lignite coal fell sharply over the first half of 2020, even before Germany’s planned coal phase-out takes full effect, according to its financial results. It has faced controversy over the Hambach Forest and a number of villages threatened with destruction by the expansion of its mines.