Poland’s PGE is one of Europe’s most fossil fuel intensive energy firms. Coal makes up around 90% of its electricity generation. It’s been investing around PLN 28bn ($7.2bn, €7bn) to build three new coal power plant units, acquire the Polish coal assets of France’s EDF, and upgrade its existing fleet to meet air quality standards. But a new and detailed report from IEEFA warns that the profitability of these investments will decline in the 2020s … [Read more...]
IEEFA Germany: RWE’s coal phaseout compensation demands defy market prices
How much should the coal producers be compensated for Germany’s phaseout? RWE wants €1.2bn per GW at least, basing its maths on an EU-approved scheme from 2015. But Gerard Wynn, writing for IEEFA, says too much has changed since then, not least the Paris Agreement and the actual market price for coal assets. By his calculations, the true price should be under €100m per GW down to near zero. Vattenfall and Engie have already taken such a hit. … [Read more...]
Greece: lignite asset sale failure could shift focus to electricity market reform and renewables
This month Greece’s Public Power Corporation (PPC) admitted its effort to sell a third of its lignite assets had failed. Dr. Nikos Mantzaris, of the think tank The Green Tank, gives his explanation for why the numbers never added up for the buyers. He now fears the PPC will simply sweeten the deal. Instead, Greece should abandon failing lignite assets, reform the electricity market and refocus on renewables. … [Read more...]
RWE’s lignite: between a rock and a hard place
The power giant RWE has faced fierce opposition to its plans for expanded lignite mining in Hambach forest, Germany. But as energy expert Gerard Wynn writes, a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis suggests there could be four more significant reasons for RWE to renounce its commitment to coal. Courtesy of Energy and Carbon. … [Read more...]
RWE sets up its lignite plants for a taxpayer bail-out
German utility RWE has kept uneconomic lignite plants open with the explicit intention of securing a public bail-out, argue Julian Schwartzkopff, Chris Littlecott and Sabrina Schulz at E3G. It would apear the energy giant has taken a bet on being “too big to fail” that might just pay off: RWE is set to be the biggest beneficiary of a new 2.7GW capacity reserve in Germany which will pay lignite plants for going on standby. The alternative, a … [Read more...]
EXCLUSIVE – new Vattenfall CEO Magnus Hall: “What is true for Eon, is pretty much true for us”
Vattenfall’s CEO Magnus Hall likens the selling of its lignite operations in Germany to Eon’s recent split in two. “The problem we needed to solve was the CO2 issue,” says Hall in an exclusive interview with Energy Post. The new chief of the Swedish state-owned company has abandoned the idea of splitting up the company geographically. Its future lies in sustainability, says Hall, e.g. in offshore wind. He notes the European market is distorted by … [Read more...]
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