Brussels, 27/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 27 May, the European Commission approved Germany's plans to grant public funding of €1.6 billion to mothball, and subsequently close, eight lignite-fired power plants.
The first of these plants will cease activities in October 2016 and the last in October 2019. The operators of these power plants will be compensated for forgone profits, as they will not be able to continue to sell electricity on the market.
With the mothballing and closure of the eight power plants, the German authorities have set themselves the aim of cutting CO2 emissions by 11 to 12.5 million tonnes a year from 2020, when all eight power plants will have ceased operations, onwards commission concluded that the measure promotes environmental objectives of the EU, as it will help Germany to reach its CO2 emission targets without unduly distorting competition on the single market. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)