Coal-Fired Power Plants In Germany Could Be Shut Down In 20 Years - Embassy

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) Coal-fired power plants in Germany could stop functioning in 2035-2038, First Secretary of the Department for Economy and Science of the German Embassy in Russia Matthias Dehner said Thursday.

"There are no fundamental contradictions in Germany on whether there is a need of closing down the coal industry. The question is how to close it down and for how long it will function, and it is very acute, it comes to demonstrations of tens of thousands of people, clashes, violence and even victims. The discussion is about to terminate brown coal production between 2035 and 2038," Dehner told reporters.

Dehner noted that brown coal was the only fossil fuel, by which Germany could cover its energy needs. The diplomat added that, in this regard, opponents of the early switching from coal stressed that the less Germany consumed its own coal, the more gas it had to import from Russia.

According to the energy strategy approved by the German government, the share of renewable energy sources in the country's energy balance should increase from current 20 percent and reach at least 80 percent by 2050. In this case, nuclear power plants will be pulled of operation by the end of 2022.