BERLIN/HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and the EU commissions have agreed on "guard rails" for a government demand of new hydrogen and gas power plants. This was announced by the Ministry of Economics in Berlin on Tuesday. The progress made with the European Commission was an important first step - even if this did not mean that the intended measures had already been approved under state aid law. The ministry spoke of "guard rails."
Habeck (Greens) said the aim was to initiate the conversion of the power plant fleet in Germany to hydrogen and thus set the course for achieving climate neutrality for the entire electricity sector. The main pillars for decarbonization are renewable energies, flexibility in the system and storage, but for some hours of the year also "controllable power plants."
These are designed to meet electricity demand when generation from wind and solar is insufficient. According to the ministry, the progress made with the EU Commission forms the framework for a national power plant strategy. Habeck has been announcing this for some time.
Specifically, according to the ministry, 8.8 gigawatts of new power plants are to be put out to tender that will run on hydrogen from the start. By 2035, up to 15 gigawatts of hydrogen power plants are to be put out to tender, which can be temporarily operated with natural gas - until they are connected to the hydrogen grid./hoe/DP/mis