The prime ministers of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt want to promote structural change in their states. When it comes to power generation, however, they tend to rely on the tried and tested. The coal phase-out is to be delayed until 2038. Chancellor Scholz is silent on this.
The heads of government of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Michael Kretschmer and Reiner Haseloff, insist on the agreed exit from coal in 2038. At a meeting with their Brandenburg counterpart Dietmar Woidke and Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Spreetal in Lusatia, both CDU politicians explicitly mentioned this date. The traffic light in Berlin had formulated in its coalition agreement that the exit would “ideally” be realized as early as 2030.
It is important to keep the existing capacities in the network right now so that another shortage does not arise, said Haseloff. "This timing is also important for us because many measures of the Structural Funding Act serve to make chemistry fit for the future in our country (...)." This requires a secure energy supply and competitive prices.
Kretschmer thanked Scholz for the fact that "the boss had made an announcement" and that the things discussed were valid. "I think we made a little more progress today." When asked, however, Scholz did not want to refer specifically to the two exit dates. However, he announced more speed in the expansion of renewable energies. If it is possible to have sufficient capacity to generate energy from renewable energies and to get started in the hydrogen economy, "then the need for other generation capacities will also be put into perspective".
Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke had previously defended the controversial restart of coal-fired power plants to avert an energy shortage in the state. This is a "right step, because we need security in the energy supply above all for the coming months, maybe even years," he said on the RBB broadcaster. Everything must now be done to get through the winter safely.
"There has to be electricity in every corner of Germany, it has to be there around the clock, it has to be there even when it's dark and the wind isn't blowing," warned Woidke, referring to renewable energies. In mid-July, the federal government decided to allow coal- or oil-fired power plants to operate in reserve again in order to save on natural gas. However, the government is still sticking to its goal of phasing out coal by 2030 if possible.
In order to achieve this, the government began at the beginning of the year to make the accelerated expansion of renewable energies possible through legislation, explained Scholz. Work on it will continue until the end of the year. "Our ambition knows no bounds." Hardly anyone can understand that the approval of a wind turbine today takes six or eight years.
Scholz also highlighted the opportunities for the east German coal regions affected by structural change. Everyone is counting on "that the most modern technologies associated with renewable energies, with the production of hydrogen, are also being developed in our country, that corresponding production capacities are being created there, that this is also the case right here in these regions". said Scholz.
Above all, it is important to have good, secure jobs in the structural change regions in the years to come. That is why attention was paid to starting the structural change in good time.
