Germany ready to fire up its first anti-crisis coal plant

The Mehrum plant was closed in December 2021, but will now get to produce power until April 2023

As Germany struggles to fill natural gas reserves before the start of the winter heating season, in June Federal Economic Minister Robert Habeck announced that some coal power plants can start operating again, halting the country’s coal exit.

The first one is called Mehrum and is in Lower Saxony, 20 kilometres east of Hannover. The plant closed down in December 2021, however, authorities have been in stand-by mode since, as the energy crisis engulfed the continent.

The Mehrum Power Station has a new licence to operate until April 2023, in order to fill in the gap left by Germany’s efforts to cut back on natural gas consumption. While it will be the first coal plant to come back from the past, many others are getting ready to start operations as well.

Powering more than half a million homes 

According to the company that owns the plant, EPH, Mehrum was able to pump out 690 megawatts of electricity, powering nearly 700,000 homes. As NDR reports, operators expect to reach that level of productivity again in the very short term.

At the same time, however, closing the plant in the first place is part of Germany’s 2038 coal exit plan without which reaching emissions goals would be impossible. Despite the Mehrum power plant being capable of producing copious amounts of CO2, thanks to a 20-year-old renovation, the facility is now somewhat carbon efficient – at least for a coal plant.

According to data from EPH, operators claim that they recycle 70% of nitrogen oxides into fertilizer, 99.9% of ash particles into building materials, and 90% of sulphur dioxide.

The coal market

Over the past months, some analysts have criticized the move to reopen coal plants as premature and potentially bearing the risk of a shortage in the coal market. However, others have pointed out that there are good financial incentives to fire up coal plants again, especially in the short term.

This is because the wholesale prices of electricity are high, while the worldwide supply of coal is currently stable. Additionally, restarting coal plants could lead to a drop in natural gas prices, as the blue fuel loses some of its grip on the energy market.

Thus, another four coal plants in the Federal States of Saarland and North-Rhine Westphalia are gearing up to reconnect to the German grid and pump out 2,300 megawatts of electricity. According to a company spokesman for Steag, the company owning the plants, it has a firm intention to return to the energy market.

Most of these plants were recently closed or scheduled to be closed this year, however, their life will be extended at least until Germany finds a stable solution for its energy needs.