Risks of Vattenfall's German lignite mining and power operations: Technical, economic, and legal considerations. Policy report on behalf of Greenpeace Germany

The Swedish state-owned energy utility Vattenfall and its owner are currently examining strategy options to address its own ambitious sustainability targets as well as the low-carbon objectives of the Swedish government. With more than 60 million tons of CO2 the company’s German lignite mining and power operations impose an increasing risk on its business. While Vattenfall’s Scandinavian generation structure corresponds to a high degree to its CO2 target, the German lignite business puts a heavy burden on the company’s aspirations. In this respect there is need for action. The objective of this policy report is to identify the major trends that shape Vattenfall’s future lignite strategy and to highlight the major risks of the German lignite mining and power operations. This will be done from a technical, an economic, and a legal perspective. The continuation of Vattenfall’s German lignite operations is contradictory with both, the energy and climate strategy of the Swedish government, and the German energiewende; neither does it suit well with the 100% renewables strategy proposed by the Land of Brandenburg. The report evaluates the options that Vattenfall has in the current situation. It is based on a variety of reports published by DIW Berlin concerning the future of lignite in the context of the German energiewende (e.g. see Oei, et al., 2014a). [...]