Germany plans to close 25% of existing coal-burning plants (12.5 gigawatts) by 2022. This will be 24 coal plants shut within the first three years.
By 2030, Germany should have about eight coal-burning plants remaining, producing 17 gigawatts of electricity.
The phase-out targets will be reviewed every three years. The final deadline could be moved forward by three years to 2035.
Germany will miss its target date of 2020 to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% from 1990. It is expected to be 32% below 1990 levels by next year.
Germany will be counting on renewable energy to provide 65% to 80% of the country’s power by 2040.
Germany has set the target of reducing emissions in the energy sector by more than 60 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. According to most experts, this objective can only be reached if at least half of the country’s coal power capacity is offline by then.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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