The German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), the country's main electricity lobby group, has called on the new federal government to quickly provide clarity regarding the planned construction of new gas-fired power plants.
The need to expand controllable electricity generation capacity is becoming increasingly urgent, the BDEW said on Monday. Many power plants have been shut down in recent years, with further closures expected, not least due to the planned phase-out of coal. According to the association, supervisory boards of power plant operators require a clear framework to approve investments in plants that could be powered by hydrogen or gas.
The previous federal government had initiated plans for the construction of new facilities designed to secure fluctuating electricity production from wind and solar sources from 2030 onwards. Utilities such as RWE, EnBW, and Uniper have expressed interest in building such plants. However, the federal government must first launch the relevant tenders, which must also regulate compensation for operators.
If tenders are launched at the beginning of 2026, the first new power plants could enter operation by late 2030 or early 2031, explained BDEW Chief Executive Kerstin Andreae. The draft Power Plant Security Act (KWSG), developed by the current coalition government, could serve as a basis for further action. The BDEW, together with its member companies, has developed proposals to ensure the success of the tenders and the actual construction of the necessary capacities. These include provisions for non-controllable risks faced by plant operators, such as insufficient hydrogen supply or transportation issues. The same applies if a switch to hydrogen operation is not feasible because the technology is not available by the specified deadline.
(Reporting by Tom Käckenhoff, editing by Ralf Banser. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)
