“Southern Germany needs new gas plants“

Germany’s transmission grid operators are calling for the construction of new conventional power plants in southern Germany to bridge the gap between the country’s nuclear phase-out and the completion of major new high-voltage power lines supplying renewable power from the north, Andreas Mihm writes in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). These “reserve plants” should be constructed in the early 2020s and have a capacity of 2000 megawatts, “roughly similar to that of two nuclear power plants". According to a report by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), flexible gas turbines would be most suitable to balance demand and supply of power and maintain grid security across the region, Mihm writes.

For more information, see the CLEW factsheet How can Germany keep the lights on in a renewable energy future?