The North Rhine-Westphalian state government today presented the draft of a new guiding decision for the Rhenish lignite mining area under the title 'New Perspectives for the Rhenish Revier'.

The draft both implements the requirements of the Coal Phase-Out Act and confirms the need for the Garzweiler opencast mine for energy purposes. RWE Power welcomes the fact that the state government is now also defining reliable framework conditions for the future of the Rhenish lignite mining district and at the same time presenting perspectives for the region as a whole. As early as the summer, the Bundestag and Bundesrat - based on the recommendations of the Commission for 'Growth, Structural Change and Employment' - passed the law to reduce and end coal-fired power generation,

A block-specific decommissioning path has been established for the lignite-fired power stations, through which RWE Power will bear the main burden of phasing out lignite by 2030. In addition, the preservation of the Hambach Forest has been agreed. As a result of the Federal Government's stipulations, coal production in the Inden and Hambach opencast mines will be suspended until around the end of 2029. As a result, from 2030 only the Garzweiler opencast mine will be available to supply the remaining power plants and refining operations with coal. Accordingly, the federal government had already confirmed the need for Garzweiler in terms of the energy industry, and thus also the need for resettlement.

The key decision is an important step for consistent, swift and operational implementation at the state level. The company will intensively examine the draft of the lead decision that is now available, which in parts goes beyond the planning that RWE Power presented at the request of the state government in February and will contribute constructively to the upcoming participation process.

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