Germany's opposition leader promises to build 50 gas-fired power plants

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, considered the likely next German chancellor, has pledged to build 50 gas-fired power plants. The outgoing government was also aware of the need to build them, but ultimately failed to pass a law that would establish support for these plants. The international news agency Reuters reported, citing German news portal t-online.

The outgoing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz ultimately failed to pass a law that would establish support for the construction of new gas-fired power plants. These are intended to ensure sufficient capacity in the German electricity grid during periods when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.

According to the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), which has long highlighted the need to build new dispatchable power plants in Germany, this issue must be included in the new government's programme for its first 100 days in office.

“Building dispatchable power plant capacity remains critically important,” BDEW chief Kerstin Andreae said in December, after Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) said the minority government no longer saw any chance of passing the law before the February election.

The opposition also recognizes the gravity of the situation, with its leader Friedrich Merz pledging to build 50 gas-fired power plants if his party wins the February election.

"We need to build 50 gas-fired power plants in Germany as soon as possible and connect them to the grid immediately," Merz said.

Merz also described the Scholz government's decision to shut down the last three nuclear power plants, which had provided reliable electricity generation, in the midst of an energy crisis as a “serious strategic mistake”.

Natural gas-fired power plants accounted for 9.4% of Germany's electricity generation last year. Their share is expected to increase in the future as coal-fired power plants are scheduled to be phased out. These generated just under a quarter of Germany's electricity last year.