Germany’s Dirtiest Coal-Fired Power Plants Are Back in Profit
Last year, lignite accounted for about 16% of Germany’s public net electricity generation.
Photographer: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images
Some of Germany’s most polluting power plants are back in profit — and ramping up output.
A sharp drop in carbon permit prices last week pushed lignite-fired power plants back into profitability for the first time since November, according to analysis from Energy Aspects Ltd. and the London Stock Exchange Group. The plants are now even cheaper to run than gas-fired generators, despite producing far higher carbon emissions.