Vattenfall’s dirty business in Lausitz in Germany
In June 2010 the Swedish parliament adopted a new ownership directive for Vattenfall,
in September Vattenfall announced its new strategic direction. An emission reduction
target of 65 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year 2020, compared to today´s
emissions of 90 million tonnes a year excluding the increased emissions that the two
new coal power plant that´s currently under construction will emit. With Vattenfall’s
current plans to open new lignite mines in Germany it seems very unlikely for Vattenfall
to reach their target. The reduction seems ambitious but compared to the fact that
Sweden´s gathered emissions reach 50 million tonnes it´s still not even close to
acceptable.
The new strategic direction announces that Vattenfall is going to focus on their core
markets Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. Although Vattenfall state that they will
“optimise” its coal sector, the company declares that it is not going to sell or shut down
lignite fired power plants in Germany. Divestments will only take place outside the core
markets.
Vattenfall has put up the goal to reduce its CO2-emissions from 90 million tons a year
(2009) to 65 million tons a year 2020.
2020 At the same time the new coal power plants in
Hamburg: Moorburg (expected to emit 8.5 million tons of CO2 per year) and Boxberg
(expected to emit 5.1 million tons of CO2 per year) currently under construction are
going to start operating. As a consequence Vattenfall does not only have to reduce 25
million tons of CO2 but 38.6 million tons to reach the emission target for 2020.
Vattenfall operates three big lignite fired coal power plants in the eastern German region
Lausitz
Vattenfall power plant
Jänschwalde
Schwarze Pumpe
Boxberg
MW
6 x 500 MW
2 x 800 MW
2 x 500 MW + 1 x 900 MW
CO2CO2-emissions
24,2 million tons per year
12,4 million tons per year
16,4 million tons per year
To provide the existing coal power plants and the coal power plants currently under
construction with lignite, Vattenfall operates five open pit mines in Lausitz. These five
existing mines contain more than 1.3 billion tons of lignite. In the region of Lausitz,
Vattenfall mines and burns up to 60 million tons of lignite per year.
year. That means that the
existing licensed mines will provide the company with lignite that will be enough to keep
the mines operating for the next 20 years, i.e. at least until 2030. Vattenfall has no plans
to stop its dirty mining, on the contrary they wants to open up five new mines and keep
on burning lignite up to 2050 or even longer.
Vattenfall plans to open up five new mines: JänschwaldeJänschwalde-Nord,
Nord WelzowWelzow-Süd II,
II
Nochten,
Nochten SprembergSpremberg-Ost and BagenzBagenz-Ost.
Ost
For the first three mines (Jänschwalde-Nord, Welzow-Süd II and Nochten) Vattenfall has
already started the regional planning process (2008). The process is estimated to go on
until 2015 before they get a permission to open the new mines.
Acting like this, Vattenfall won’t be able to reach the emission reduction target for 2020
and it´s also a clear signal that they don’t want to abandon climate destructive coal
operations, which they try to indicate in their new strategic direction.
V.i.S.d.P: Anike Peters, Greenpeace e.V., Große Elbstraße 39, 22767 Hamburg
11/2010
The impacts of Vattenfall´s lignite mining plans
Lignite mining destroys the homes of people, wildlife and plants
If Vattenfall realises its plans to open five new open pit mines, 4 whole villages (named
Proschim, Atterwasch, Kerkwitz and Grabko) and parts of other neighbouring villages
will be displaced. That will affect more than 3.500 people who will have to be displaced.
Nature and biodiversity such as forest, lakes and highly valuable agricultural lands are
going to be destroyed and can never be rebuilt with the same quality.
People and nature of the area will suffer from drought because Vattenfall´s activities
lower the ground water level of the whole region to keep the water out of the mines. In
many cases trees are dying and farmers are particularly affected by the drought.
Lignite is the worst of all fossil fuels
Even a modern lignite-fired power plant emits three times more CO2 than a gas power
plant. One ton of burned lignite produces one ton of CO2 and contains up to 60 percent
of water, which makes it a very inefficient energy source. If Vattenfall realises its plans, 2
billion tons of lignite (remaining lignite in the existing mines plus new mines) will be
mined which results in 2 billion tons of CO2 which will be emitted.
Lignite power plants are very inefficient. Only one third of the energy in the lignite is
used when it´s burned. The other two thirds are lost as heat which can’t be used
because the power plants are too big and there are no customers around. Therefore
the heat is blown out as hot steam to the air
V.i.S.d.P: Anike Peters, Greenpeace e.V., Große Elbstraße 39, 22767 Hamburg
11/2010
Lignite blocks the energy revolution
The use of base load power such as nuclear and lignite blocks the power shift to a
renewable energy system. Several studies show that nuclear power and coal power
doesn’t enable renewable energy sources to reach their full potential.
Renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind, bio energy and solar power are
undisputable the future: The renewable energy sector creates thousands of new jobs
while job numbers in lignite mining decrease even if the amount of lignite mined
increases.
Greenpeace´s Energy [R]evolution scenarios that describes how we can go 100%
renewable can be found at:
http://www.energyblueprint.info/home.0.html
More information from Vattenfall concerning their activities can be found at:
Plans for new lignite mine Jänschwalde-Nord
http://www.vattenfall.de/de/tagebau-zukunftsfelder-jaenschwalde-nord.htm
Information on plans for Bagenz-Ost and Spremberg-Ost
http://www.vattenfall.de/de/zukunftsfelder-bagenz-ost-spremberg-ost.htm
Information on the licensing procedure
http://www.vattenfall.de/de/tagebau-zukunftsfelder-genehmigung.htm
Vattenfall map of the plans
http://www.vattenfall.de/de/file/Revierkarte_1_13592467.pdf
V.i.S.d.P: Anike Peters, Greenpeace e.V., Große Elbstraße 39, 22767 Hamburg
11/2010