State minister calls quick end of coal-fired power production “utopian”

The economy minister of German federal state Brandenburg has called a speedy phase-out of coal-fired power production “utopian”, Märkische Allgemeine reports. SPD-politician Albrecht Gerber said while restructuring the energy system in the long-term was a necessity, 60 percent of Germany’s electricity was currently still provided by conventional sources: “It is utopian to believe that we will soon phase-out nuclear and coal power,” Gerber said at a regional industry conference organised by the German Wind Energy Association (BWE). Regional BWE head Hinrich Glahr stressed that renewable energies in Brandenburg employed about 17,000 people whereas lignite mining in coal region Lusatia, which partly lies in Brandenburg, only provided work for about 8,000 people.

See the CLEW factsheet When will Germany finally ditch coal? for background.