Fortum Defends Uniper's Coal Plant Start

Finnish state utility Fortum has defended the planned May 30 start-up of the Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant, operated by its German subsidiary Uniper.

In a May 29 statement it "understood people’s concerns and we agree that coal must be phased out and emissions must be reduced. However, the transition to a low-emission society must be made without compromising security of supply or an affordable cost of energy, in a socially just manner. This has been the starting point for the comprehensive solution of the German government, which allows the commissioning of Datteln 4 and systematic phasing out of coal by 2038. " 

The German government is committed to reducing emissions quickly, so old and inefficient power plants will be decommissioned first. As long as coal is needed to ensure security of supply, it should be used as efficiently as possible, Fortum said.   

Uniper has announced that it will shut down all its old coal-fired power plants in Germany and the UK by 2025. The company aims for its electricity and heat production in Europe to be carbon-neutral in 2035. Since 2016 the company reduced its emissions by 40%, in 2019 alone this reduction was of 20%.

Fortum said its next step was to agree on a common strategy with Uniper and set climate targets that apply to all their operations. However, "changes of this caliber must be implemented responsibly, taking all aspects into consideration."

The market may however also prove an effective mechanism for turning down Uniper's use of coal: in late May, Uniper announced the return to service of its ultra-efficient Irsching 4 and 5 gas-fired power plants, citing low gas prices.