Coal’s 21st century renaissance in Germany – a timeline

  • 2002 – The German government passes a law that limits the lifespans of Germany’s nuclear power stations and forbids the construction of new commercial nuclear power stations.
  • 2003 to 2008 – Major energy producers RWE, Eon, Vattenfall and EnBW, along with numerous public companies, initiate plans for around 20 new coal-fired power stations in Germany.
  • 2006 – Colombian President Álvaro Uribe announces that Colombian coal production is to increase by 6% per year.
  • 2007 – The German government resolves that, from 2018, coal mining will no longer be subsidised and all of Germany’s coal mines will be closed.
  • 2010 – In Germany, eight coal-fired power stations are under construction and are due to begin operation between 2012 and 2014. The President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, announces that he wants to double his country’s coal production by 2019.
  • 2011 – Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the German government decides to completely phase out nuclear power by 2022. Belgium and Switzerland also plan to end their use of atomic energy. Swiss, Belgian and Dutch energy companies invest in the construction of coal-fired power stations in Germany. At this time, 20% of Germany’s energy is generated by coal. The country’s Bundesnetzagentur (“Federal Network Agency”) determines that, in 2020, Germany’s new coal-fired power stations will be generating exactly the same amount of energy that would have been produced by the now absent nuclear power stations, had the decision not been made in 2002 to limit their lifespans.
  • August 2011 – The Colombian government authorises the expansion of the El Cerrejón opencast coal mine. Consequences include the resettlement of Tamaquito village and the re-routing of a 26 kilometre-long stretch of the Río Ranchería. After the expansion, Cerrejón’s annual coal production is set to increase from its 2011 level of 33 million tonnes to 60 million tonnes.
  • September 2011 – For the first time, Colombia becomes the main supplier of coal to Germany’s coal-fired power stations. All German power station operators now use Colombian coal. Coal imports to Germany from Colombia total 10.5 million tonnes.
  • December 2011 – Germany’s Deutsche Bank is the largest provider of credit to the three companies that operate the El Cerrejón coal mine: Xstrata (Switzerland), Anglo American (United Kingdom) and BHP Billiton (Australia).
  • 2013 – Commodities company Glencore plc (headquartered in Baar, Switzerland) merges with mining company Xstrata (headquartered in Zug, Switzerland). In 2013, the new company’s turnover totals US$ 233 billion (by way of comparison, the annual turnover of Nestlé S. A. is less than half this figure, at US$ 102 billion).
  • 2013 – The new coal-fired power station at Duisburg-Walsum (STEAG block 10) begins commercial operation.
  • 2014 – The new coal-fired power stations at Hamm-Uentrop (RWE), Lünen (Trianel) and Karlsruhe (EnBW) begin commercial operation.
  • 2015 – The new coal-fired power stations at Hamburg-Moorburg (Vattenfall), Mannheim (RWE, EnBW) and Wilhelmshafen (GDF Suez) will begin commercial operation.
  • 2016 – The new coal-fired power station at Datteln (EON) is due to begin commercial operation.