Source: energate

As reported, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) believes that the government's current plans will ensure electricity supply until 2031. This would also be the case if the German government were to bring forward the coal phase-out to 2030. In addition to the planned expansion of renewables and the grid, this will require a restructuring of the power plant fleet: "We will launch a power plant strategy this year," economics minister Robert Habeck (Greens) announced in a statement after the cabinet meeting. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, this will take place in the first half of the year.

Habeck said that the tender conditions for power plants that are not dependent on renewable energies would be discussed. "We will also have phases after 2030 in which we will need baseload capable power plants that can always produce," said Habeck. The new power plants would be operated differently than today because there will be enough electricity from renewables for other periods of the year, he continued. "So we need large capacities for small periods - in other words, a completely different market model," he said. To this end, he wants to kick-start investment this year. What is certain is that the new power plants should be able to run on hydrogen. "Gas is fine for the transition phase, but as soon as possible we will move away from gas in hydrogen power generation," said Habeck.

High flexibilities provided

However, the Federal Network Agency does not consider the creation of capacity mechanisms to be absolutely necessary to attract investment in secure generation. But it does recommend keeping power plant capacity outside the market and using it to support the electricity system when needed.

Every two years, the federal government publishes its monitoring of security of supply. Every four years it presents recommendations for action. These include, for example, the rapid development of flexibility potential, which is also to be discussed in the 'Platform for a climate-neutral electricity system'. The report mentions flexibilities of at least 41,200 MW. The controllability of electric cars and heat pumps would be added. However, the companies criticise the current proposals of the Federal Network Agency on controllable consumption devices.

BDEW and VKU see optimistic assumptions

The energy association BDEW basically supports the target scenario formulated in the report. "But one thing must be made clear: Germany will have to move ahead at an unprecedented speed if the transformation to a climate-neutral electricity system is to be achieved by 2035 while at the same time phasing out coal by 2030," said BDEW's chairwoman Kerstin Andreae. The political targets would only be achievable if all assumptions and premises of the report were fully met. "According to our assessment, however, the required substantial addition of new controllable generation capacities, i.e. hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants and biomass plants, is currently not realistic," said Andreae.

The German association of municipal utilities (VKU) takes a similar view: "From the point of view of municipal utilities and municipal energy suppliers, the monitoring report formulates the right goals. But there are problems with implementation. That is why we consider the positive forecasts of the Federal Network Agency to be too optimistic at the moment," said the head of the VKU, Ingbert Liebing.

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