Germany to mothball largest coal power plants

[3rdRock]

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... te-targets

Germany to mothball largest coal power plants to meet climate targets

Germany agreed on Thursday to mothball about five of the country’s largest brown coal power plants to meet its climate goals by 2020, after months of wrangling between the parties in chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition.

But Merkel and the leaders of her two junior coalition partners also, in effect, agreed to set up a “capacity reserve” system where utilities could switch on the brown coal plants if there were power shortages in the country.

[vtsnowedin]

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... te-targets

Germany to mothball largest coal power plants to meet climate targets

Germany agreed on Thursday to mothball about five of the country’s largest brown coal power plants to meet its climate goals by 2020, after months of wrangling between the parties in chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition.

But Merkel and the leaders of her two junior coalition partners also, in effect, agreed to set up a “capacity reserve” system where utilities could switch on the brown coal plants if there were power shortages in the country.

Sounds like not burning any bridges they might need to retreat over.
The logistics of firing up such a large plant from a mothballed condition probably make this not as clever or as easy as it first sounds.