Germany currently gets 20% of its electricity from coal-powered stations. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Germany is the biggest user of coal for power generation in Europe, and the fourth largest in the world after China, India and the US. It has pledged to stop using it altogether by 2038. For lignite, the most polluting soft coal, the phase-out has been brought forward to 2030.
Currently, Germany gets 59% of its electricity from renewables. As backup for wind and solar, especially in winter, it plans to replace coal with natural gas. Gas emits half as much CO2 as coal and accounts for 13% of German electricity generation.
However, the recent jump in global gas prices following the US-Israel conflict with Iran has encouraged several countries to reconsider coal. Japan has loosened rules for coal-fired plants, Italy delayed closures until 2038, and India postponed maintenance.
In March, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said: "We must supply this country with electricity. I am not prepared to jeopardise the core of our industry simply because we have adopted phase-out plans that have become unrealistic."
Germany has abundant cheap lignite—the largest reserves in Europe and third globally—and is self-sufficient. In contrast, it imports 95% of its natural gas. When gas prices spike, switching back to cheap lignite is financially appealing.
Nuclear is not an option, as Germany closed its last nuclear plant in 2023.
German energy firm LEAG, the second largest lignite miner, welcomes the possible reprieve. "We very much welcome the fact that the German federal government is placing security of supply at the heart of its energy policy considerations," it said. It increased lignite supplies after Russian gas imports halted in 2022.
Hauke Hermann, senior researcher at Öko Institute, insists more coal is not the answer and wants more renewables.
Wolfgang Große Entrup, director of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), says: "Our industry needs reliable energy. Renewable energy alone cannot yet guarantee this. Companies will only invest billions if they can trust that energy will remain reliably available at competitive prices."
No one outside the far-right AfD calls for scrapping the coal phase-out entirely, but some loosening is possible. One compromise involves six coal plants using imported hard coal, which is less polluting than lignite. These are currently backup only. The owner, Steag Iqony Group, says they should operate full-time. A spokesman said: "If they were temporarily allowed to resume regular production, they could deliver electricity to several million homes."
A parliamentary committee set up in March is studying this.
In the grand coalition, the centre-right CDU/CSU favours extending coal, while the left-wing SPD opposes. SPD energy spokeswoman Nina Scheer warns: "Relaxing the rules for coal would be counterproductive for the energy transition and mean new fossil lock-in effects."
CDU deputy leader and Saxony minister-president Michael Kretschmer says: "Germany, as a major industrial nation, must do everything in its power to ensure that energy remains affordable. The energy transition must be completely recalculated. It should not be a matter of cost, but rather a matter of realistically considering security of supply and affordability."
The government must decide this year whether to respect the 2030 lignite phase-out deadline or maintain some capacity as a strategic reserve. In August, it will publish a statutory review of the coal phase-out's impact on energy supply. Originally intended to accelerate the Kohleausstieg, it may now be used to slow it down.