Germany may shutdown coal-fired plants to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets

Germany plans to reduce energy generation from coal power plants to meet its greenhouse gas emission targets.

The government is considering a programme to increase energy efficiency and reduce coal generation, reports Reuters citing Rainer Baake, a Greens member serving under Social Democrat Economy Minister. It is claimed that this decision will be made on 3 December.

Germany has a goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2020 from 1990 levels. The country's environment industry has warned that this target could be missed by approximately 5%-8%.

If this were to happen, it could be major embarrassment for Angela Merkel. The chancellor has made Energiewende a pet project, in order to shift the country's dependency from nuclear and coal power plants to renewable sources.

EU recommendations for at least 40% greenhouse gas reduction in 2030 is, however, more relaxed than the country's targets.

Baake told: "We are looking at whether it could be sensible to take a certain amount of coal power plant capacity out of the market and put it in a reserve."

National weekly news publication Der Spiegel had reported earlier this week that the German Government intends to eliminate 10GW of coal-fired power, which equals power generation from almost two dozen small plants.

Merkel's government has set a target of generating 40% to 45% of power from renewable sources by 2025, and 55% to 60% by 2035.

At present, coal is a major power generation resource in the country. Until last year, coal-fired plants offered almost 45% of national energy requirements.