Wüst gives traffic lights ultimatum for gas-fired power plant strategy
NRW wants to phase out lignite by 2030. However, this requires strategies from the federal government, as the construction of new power plants will take years. Head of government Wüst is now calling on the federal government to act quickly. Otherwise, he is indirectly questioning the phase-out plans.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst is calling on the federal government to speed up the new gas-fired power plant strategy so as not to jeopardize the early phase-out of coal in NRW by 2030. "There must be clarity by next year at the latest," said Wüst.
Six gas-fired power plants would have to be built in NRW. It would take five to six years from approval to the final construction of such a power plant. "For the energy supply of the future, we now need the power plant strategy announced by the federal government very quickly," said the politician. "But we have been waiting in vain for this so far."
If the power plant strategy is not in place and the tender for the capacity does not take place, there can be no tender for the construction, said the NRW head of government. If the new hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants were not built in time, the old power plants could not be taken off the grid either. "There can be no phase-out without a phase-in." Security of supply and reliability must be guaranteed at all times in an industrialized country. The new plants are intended to supply electricity when generation from wind and solar is insufficient.
NRW is expanding renewable energies particularly quickly
NRW has also been "waiting for months for the traffic lights to finally move" on the urgently needed grid development plan, said Wüst. The new gas-fired power plants must be reliably supplied first with gas and then with hydrogen, which comes from Seebrugge and Rotterdam in particular. "The grid operators in our neighboring countries to the west are also waiting in the wings," said the CDU politician. "We need this clarity and we need speed, otherwise the federal government will jeopardize the 2030 phase-out."
NRW is doing its homework, said Wüst. "We are expanding renewable energies faster than almost any other state." NRW is the frontrunner when it comes to approving wind power capacities. So far this year, 278 turbines have been approved - 20 times as many as in Bavaria. In the tenders, North Rhine-Westphalia has been awarded by far the most contracts in the wind energy sector.
The energy company RWE had also recently pushed for a rapid regulatory framework from the federal government to enable investment in hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants. Last year, the two federal and state economic ministries led by Green politicians, together with RWE, agreed to phase out lignite mining in NRW by 2023, eight years earlier than planned.
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Source: www.ntv.de
