BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is burying his plans for a new power plant law in this legislative period. The implementation of the planned law to require new gas-fired power plants is unfortunately no longer possible due to a lack of the necessary majorities, the Ministry of Economics announced. According to ministry circles, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group has made it clear that it rejects the law and the rapid expansion of the power plants. Following the break-up of the traffic light coalition in November, the SPD and Greens no longer have a majority in parliament.

The conversion of the electricity system to renewable energies requires the expansion of flexible capacities, the ministry added. "There was a finished law on the table for the expansion of these flexible power plant capacities - the Power Plant Security Act - which has been negotiated with the EU Commission," said a spokesperson. "Unfortunately, implementation is now no longer possible, as the necessary majorities are lacking. That's why we are now concentrating on what is feasible."

Threat of long delays

In future, the new gas-fired power plants are to step in when the electricity demand cannot be covered by renewable energies - in "dark doldrums", when there is no sunshine and no wind. The gas-fired power plants will later be converted to more climate-friendly hydrogen. The ministry estimated the cost of the state requirement at around 17 billion euros over a period from 2029 to 2045.

The ministry's target was for the first tenders for the construction of new power plants to be issued in the first half of 2025. The first new power plants were to be commissioned in 2030.

These targets can now no longer be met. This also threatens to shake the timetable for the coal phase-out. The new gas-fired power plants are to replace coal-fired power plants. So far, a phase-out brought forward by eight years to 2030 has only been decided in the Rhenish mining area. Habeck is also expecting an early, market-driven coal phase-out in eastern Germany. The background to this is rising CO2 prices. This could make coal-fired power plants increasingly unprofitable.

Two resolutions in the energy sector

At least operators of so-called combined heat and power plants should now have more planning security. They could be required to do so even if their plant does not go into operation until after 2026. The cabinet has approved a corresponding draft amendment to the Combined Heat and Power Act (KWKG).

Combined heat and power (CHP) involves the generation of electricity and heat in a single plant. To qualify under the KWKG, plants previously had to be commissioned by the end of December 2026. As a result of the amendment, only a certain planning status of the plants must now be available by the end of 2026. The same applies to heating networks and heat storage facilities, which are required under the KWKG.

The cabinet has also approved changes to the regulations on bioenergy. The Federal Ministry of Economics' so-called biomass package is intended to make the requirements for biogas plants connected to a heating or building network more flexible. This also includes a moderate increase in tender volumes in 2025 and 2026, the ministry announced.

"It's good that things are moving after all," said Ingbert Liebing, Managing Director of the Association of Local Utilities (VKU). "We need a legally secure solution as quickly as possible because municipal utilities can only plan, finance and build the necessary CHP plants if they have investment security."/rgr/DP/jha