Early output of lignite in NRW
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Scientists see ‘almost zero’ CO2 savings
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Steam rises from RWE’s lignite-fired power plant in Neurath, as wind turbines turn. Photo: dpa/David Young
Dusseldorf According to calculations by the German Institute for Economic Research, the early phase-out of lignite by 2030 in NRW may not bring any advantage compared to the original phase-out plan for 2038. What the state government says about it.
The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) contradicts the state government in the presentation of how much C0two they will be saved by earlier carbon removal. According to DIW calculations, the early exit would save 64 million tons of coal in the extreme case. In a more “realistic” scenario, there would actually be no savings compared to the original 2038 phase-out closure plan.
The state and federal government speak of 280 million tons of coal that would no longer be excavated or burned due to early removal. “We don’t understand that,” DIW’s Catharina Rieve said. “These 280 million tons can only be reached based on the total amount of coal found in the old open-pit mining camp, including the five towns. So if you assume that it would have been possible to fully open the entire open pit minefield and burn the coal by 2038.”
By their calculations, this would not have happened at all by 2038, at least according to the original phase-out plan under the Coal Power Generation Act. According to Rieve, two scenarios were examined. In one scenario, it was assumed that all power plant blocks would close as planned over the years until phase-out in 2038, but operate at full capacity until then. You would use a maximum amount of carbon. Under these circumstances, current early exit planning would save a maximum of 64 million tonnes of coal, Rieve explains. The capacity of all power plants was assumed to be fully utilized at the end of the phase-out in 2030.
“But based on more realistic prospects, then we have almost zero savings,” explains Rieve. This is the case, for example, assuming that electricity from brown coal could no longer be sold by the late 1930s and that coal phase-out would have been brought forward to 2035 at the latest anyway. This means that the plants would not have completely exhausted their operating times until 2038 at the latest.
Catharina Rieve is the lead author of several DIW studies that conclude that the coal under Lützerath would no longer be needed for energy supply and that burning it would jeopardize the climate goals of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
However, the state government is sticking to its calculations: the agreement reached between the federal government, the state and the energy company RWE is “an important milestone regarding the climate policy efforts of the state government”. The extended operation of two lignite blocks with a total output of 1.2 gigawatts for 15 months opposes an eight-year reduction in the operation of three lignite blocks with a total output of 3 gigawatts.
“How much COtwo Ultimately, the savings also depend on how quickly we expand renewable energy. Because with the growing expansion of renewable energies, the utilization of the remaining lignite power plants decreases,” said the State Ministry of Economy. “But one thing is clear: Due to the coal phase-out in 2030, only half of the originally planned mining field in the Garzweiler II open pit mine will be used. As a result, a total of at least 280 million tons of coal remain safely underground. This corresponds to about 280 million tons of COtwothat can no longer be emitted as a result.”
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