Germany's Uniper to close 2.9 GW of hard coal plants without compensation

Uniper plans to decommission 2.9 GW of German hard coal plants at Scholven and Wilhelmshaven by end-2022 and at Staudinger and Heyden by end-2025 at the latest, the German company said Thursday.

The voluntary plan comes a day after the government agreed a draft coal exit law that allows Uniper to start up its new Datteln-4 coal plant against the wishes of the country's coal commission.

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The utility said it "decided to lead by example" after "constructive discussions with the federal government in the context of the draft [coal exit] law."

Uniper CEO Andreas Schierenbeck said the voluntary closures may help to increase social acceptance of the phase-out amid criticism of the government's green light for Datteln 4.

"Uniper will not receive any compensation payments," a company spokesman told S&P Global Platts.

Whether Uniper would participate in upcoming compensation-for-closure auctions in order to secure adjustment payments for employees was speculation, he said.

"Our goal in the talks was to make a constructive contribution to ending coal-fired power generation in Germany. After all, the coal exit law has not yet come into force. Everything else - including possible participation in tenders for hard coal decommissioning - will be examined in due course," the spokesman said.

In detail, Uniper said it intended to decommission units at Scholven B and C (690 MW in all), the associated Buer district heat plant (70 MW electric) and the Wilhemshaven power station (777 MW) by end-2022, "provided the proposed legislation will be implemented."

Then it intended to close hard coal plants at Staudinger (510 MW) and Heyden (875 MW) "at the latest December 31, 2025," it said.

Uniper would develop "forward-looking schemes" for affected sites that offered long-term employment prospects.

Two years ago Uniper proposed coal-to-gas conversion at Scholven with a new gas-fired CHP unit (114 MW electric) and a steam boiler installed by 2022 for industrial clients at the site near Gelsenkirchen.

Uniper also mentioned plans to "develop solutions that produce hydrogen on an industrial scale."

The German cabinet Wednesday approved plans to close 18 GW of lignite and over 20 GW of hard coal plants by 2038.

Hard-coal plant closures are mainly through closure compensation auctions until 2026.

There will be no compensation for hard coal beyond this date, the draft law said.

UNIPER: GERMAN HARD-COAL PLANTS

Source: Uniper