Coal phase-out in heart of coal county “a decided thing”

A coal exit in Cottbus, the largest city of one of Germany’s most important coal producing regions, is inevitable, writes Nick Reimer in Zeit Online. The municipal utility’s lignite power plant will be taken off the grid and replaced by a new gas-fired facility by 2022 at the latest. “Brown coal is politically and morally worn out,” Vlatko Knezevic, managing director of Cottbus’ public utility, says. Despite criticism from coal workers and pro-coal associations, Knezevic says that his job is “to avert damage for the city, the public utility, and its employees. Lignite is a major burden for the Cottbus utility; natural gas is more sustainable.”

Read the article in German here.

For background, read the factsheets Coal in Germany and When will Germany finally ditch coal?