Saturday, October 9th, 2021
But the state must help
RWE boss: Coal phase-out in 2030 is feasible
More renewable energies and the phase-out of coal are challenges of climate change for the economy. The head of the energy company RWE believes that it is possible, but also sets some conditions.
The head of the energy company RWE, Markus Krebber, can imagine bringing the German coal phase out from 2038 to 2030. “A coal phase-out in 2030 is feasible – if we increase the pace of the expansion of renewable energies tremendously and build many additional gas-fired power plants,” said Krebber of the “Rheinische Post”. “Those who just switch off, however, endanger the security of supply in Germany,” he warned.
In the event of an earlier coal phase-out, however, Krebber asked for more help from the state. “Even with the current phase-out of coal, RWE bears most of the burdens,” he said. By 2030, the company will cut 6,000 employees in the opencast mines and power plants in the Rhenish mining district. “If you want to get out of coal earlier than planned, you have to find socially acceptable solutions,” said the manager. “No employee is allowed to fall outside of the mountains.”
Instead, RWE wants to invest in gas-fired power plants. The company is already building a gas-powered reserve power plant in the old Biblis nuclear power plant. “But in order to be able to make investment decisions for new gas-fired power plants, we need planning security,” said Krebber of the newspaper. “Gas is a fossil fuel – I don’t want to have a debate about phasing out gas in ten years,” he said, referring to the ongoing debate about phasing out coal. “That is why we need a broad consensus,” said Krebber.
He also called for faster approval procedures for the energy transition. “In order for the expansion of renewables to progress, planning procedures must be tightened,” he demanded. Currently, an onshore wind turbine requires 70,000 pages of applications. “That’s madness.” Permits would have to be standardized and the responsible offices increased in terms of staff. Krebber also called for citizens’ initiatives and environmental associations to limit their right of action: “There should only be one instance of lawsuits.”