East German coal plant partially put in reserve in summer amid expected renewables surge
RBB
East German energy company LEAG plans to put a major lignite plant in partial reserve from May to September due to the projected high output of renewable power installations in that period, public broadcaster RBB reported. Half of the electricity production capacity at the Jänschwälde plant in the state of Brandenburg, which has a total capacity of 2,000 megawatt (MW), would be put in reserve, bringing LEAG’s total production capacity down from 7,000 to 6,000 MW. The company expects “periodically excessive supply“ from renewable power sources, which would mean the plant would not run at high capacity. The offline time could be used to store lignite reserves for the winter, the company added.
The company, one of Europe’s largest coal plant operators, is investing in renewable energy to pivot away from coal and phase out the fossil fuel in line with a national agreement by 2038 at the latest. In late March, Czech investor group EP of owner Daniel Kretinsky took full control of LEAG, which operates coal mines and power plants in several eastern German states. The EP group said it planned to “implement the transformation of LEAG at the expected scale and within the expected time,” RBB reported in a separate article.
In 2024, the share of renewable energy in net public electricity generation reached a record high of 62.7 percent, with solar power smashing government expansion targets and coal use continuing to drop sharply. However, while plans to end coal-fired power production well before the official 2038 deadline have been agreed in western German coal mining regions, eastern state governments so far have been far more reluctant, citing supply security concerns. The prospective next German government has said it aims to stick to the agreed lignite phase out by 2038.
