German energy union says power plant new builds in doubt

BDEW, the German energy industry association, says there is potential for 53 per cent of 39 power plants scheduled to be built in Germany over the next decade to be cancelled.

The union says construction looks unviable for a majority of the proposed plants as investors were nervous because of a lack of profitability for coal- and gas-fired power stations because of competing energy supplies from subsidised renewable power, and a tougher carbon emissions regime.

"If politicians carry on as they do now then there will be no new, modern power stations," managing director Hildegard Mueller said. "There are no incentives whatsoever for investments, despite politicians emphasising all the time that they aim to change this."

On the first day of the Hannover Trade Fair, Mueller went on to warn that Germany faced supply bottlenecks once nuclear energy was completely removed from the grid in 2022

It warned that if current plant closure plans were added up with likely cancellations of planned new projects, some 16,700 MW of so-called secure load, that runs 24 hours, would be shut by 2022.

While wind and solar energy have been expanding fast they cannot guarantee supply at all times, according to the union.

BDEW represents around 1,800 companies active in the production, transport and sale of power, gas, water and heat.