The phase-out of coal in the Rhenish mining area is being brought forward by eight years. The Bundestag passed a law late on Thursday evening, according to which the three lignite-fired power plants Neurath F and G and Niederaußem K will be taken off the grid in 2030 and not – as previously stipulated – in 2038.
The parliamentarians thus approved a corresponding agreement between the federal government, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and the energy company RWE. However, the agreement also means that the Neurath D and E power plant blocks, which were supposed to be shut down at the end of the year, will remain in operation at least until the end of March 2024 due to the energy price crisis.
In this context, the economic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Reinhard Houben, spoke of a responsible energy policy for Germany and Europe.
