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Germany to Offer Utilities Less Cash to Close Coal Plants

  • Government has just 1 billion euros in compensation fund
  • RWE and Uniper were anticipating much larger payouts
Germany's Drive to Slash CO2 Output May Cost $44 Billion
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

Germany’s government has allocated less money in its budget for closing coal-fired power plants than the utilities that own them expect.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration has earmarked just 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to pay for closing a total of 5 gigawatts of coal capacity by 2023, according to a government official who asked not to be identified because the figures aren’t yet public.