2024-01-25 16:36:36
High-level talks between the government and the utility sector ended Thursday without agreement on a long-awaited strategy for new gas-fired power plants, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The key question that remains unanswered is whether hydrogen plants should receive start-up financing, or capital expenditures, in addition to support for operating expenses, these people said.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz called a new round of negotiations for Thursday morning, after a previous round earlier this week failed to reach an agreement, increasing pressure on the coalition to reach a solution .
In addition to Finance Minister Christian Lindner and officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, high-level representatives from the utility sector, including Uniper and RWE, also participated in the discussions.
The main objective of the negotiations is to promote the construction of new gas-fired power plants, worth several billion euros, to compensate for the growing, but intermittent, renewable energy capacity in Germany.
These plants should be gradually converted into plants producing climate-friendly hydrogen, which is expected to be significantly more expensive than natural gas for a long time.
According to government and industry circles, Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Mr Scholz are largely in agreement and are pushing for a quick decision, while Mr Lindner still has reservations, wanting at most to finance the costs of exploitation.
The plan, estimated to cost 40 billion euros ($43.35 billion), is part of Germany’s efforts to avoid electricity shortages as it gradually abandons coal for the benefit of renewable energy production.
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