European Commission Probing Germany Lignite Power Compensation. The European Commission on March 2 opened an “in-depth investigation” to assess whether Germany’s plans to compensate its lignite-fired power plants for early closure is in line with the European Union’s (EU’s) state aid rules. Germany, which has announced a coal phaseout by 2038, has entered into agreements with lignite power generators, RWE and LEAG, for compensation of “foregone profits,” and “additional mine rehabilitation costs.” According to the commission, of the total €4.35 billion, €2.6 billion are earmarked for the RWE lignite installations located in the Rheinland area and €1.75 billion for the LEAG installations in the Lausitz region. In November 2020, the European Commission found that the competitive tender mechanism introduced by Germany to compensate its hard coal-fired power plants and lignite plants below 150 MW for early phaseout promotes EU climate objectives.

J-POWER Mulls Generation Profile Shakeup. Japan’s Electric Power Development Co. Ltd., which operates under the brand name J-POWER, on Feb. 26 unveiled a “Blue Mission 2050” plan that seeks to realize a carbon-neutral and hydrogen society by 2050. The company will target a carbon dioxide emissions reduction of 40% by 2030 by replacing coal-fired power plants with hydrogen power. Thermal power currently makes up about 36.9% of J-POWER’s portfolio. Transformational projects will include Osaki’s CoolGen Project, which is conducting a demonstration of a system that produces hydrogen from coal and could be ready for commercialization as early as 2025. J-POWER is also participating in a pilot test project to gasify brown coal in Australia and transport it to Japan. J-POWER’s plan also entails expanding its renewable energy capacity, mostly hydro, by 1 GW by March 2026. It also plans to start up the Ohma nuclear power plant in April 2028. Construction is continuing on the ABWR despite a series of delays.

French Regulator Approves Operation of 900-MWe Reactors Beyond 40 Years. French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) on Feb. 23 set the conditions for the continued operation of EDF’s 900-MWe reactors beyond 40 years and highlighted an “open prospect” of keeping them open for 50 years. EDF’s 32 900-MWe reactors, which came online between 1977 and 1988, are the oldest reactors in France, and their fourth periodic safety review “is of particular importance because the service life hypothesis adopted at the design stage was 40 years,” explained ASN. Continued operation beyond 40 years required design study updates and equipment […]

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