German State Awards €317 Million To Loss-Making Coal Plants

An analysis by Ember reveals that the first German national auction to accelerate the hard coal phase-out awarded €317 million in compensation to 11 plants, many of which were already economically unviable. The report argues that the German government is using public funds to close plants that would likely shut down due to market forces, while potentially accelerating the closure of newer, more efficient units over older ones.

• The first national coal phase-out auction awarded nearly €317 million in compensation to 11 hard coal plants to retire by 2021. Analysis of the seven largest plants (those over 300MW) shows they collectively lost more than €200 million over the previous two years.
• The German hard coal fleet is experiencing a systemic decline in both utilization and profitability. Since the end of 2018, 93% of the fleet has operated at a loss, with total losses exceeding €1 billion. Average load factors dropped from 40% in 2018 to 20% between January and October 2020.
• The auction process may be counterproductive to emissions goals by incentivizing the closure of younger, more efficient plants. For example, Vattenfall's Moorburg units, commissioned in 2015, were successful in the auction, suggesting that even modern plants are no longer economically viable.
• Germany's current coal exit strategy, which targets a phase-out by 2038, is described as unambitious and outdated compared to the 2030 target required for alignment with the Paris Agreement and EU commitments. By 2030, Germany is projected to remain the EU's top power sector polluter, accounting for approximately 30% of the EU's power sector emissions.

APA

Ember (2020). German State Awards €317 Million To Loss-Making Coal Plants. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/german-state-awards-e317-million-to-loss-making-coal-plants

Chicago

Ember. German State Awards €317 Million To Loss-Making Coal Plants. 2020. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/german-state-awards-e317-million-to-loss-making-coal-plants.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=German State Awards €317 Million To Loss-Making Coal Plants |date=8 December 2020 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/german-state-awards-e317-million-to-loss-making-coal-plants |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2020german, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{German State Awards €317 Million To Loss-Making Coal Plants}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/german-state-awards-e317-million-to-loss-making-coal-plants}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }