Cases / Oil, gas and coal operations · Germany · 2015–2020
Germany pays 317 million euros in premiums to 11 coal plants, including Moorburg
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
In December 2020 Germany's hard coal closure auction paid 317 million euros to 11 plants, including two Moorburg units, and 216 million euros went to RWE. At stake for nature is public money paid to coal plant owners for closing, and the amount paid to Vattenfall was not disclosed.
What?
Germany's hard coal closure auction paid 317 million euros to 11 plants, including two Moorburg units. dpa-AFX / Börse Online
Where?
Moorburg, Hamburg, Germany dpa-AFX / Börse Online
When?
1 December 2020 dpa-AFX / Börse Online
Who?
Gained
- Vattenfall — Moorburg's two units won closure premiums; the amount was not disclosed dpa-AFX / Börse Online
- RWE — received 216 million euros of the total dpa-AFX / Börse Online
Lost
- Government of Germany — paid 317 million euros in closure premiums dpa-AFX / Börse Online
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Closure premiums paid through a hard coal auction dpa-AFX / Börse Online
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
dpa-AFX reported on 1 December 2020 that Germany's hard coal closure auction had paid 317 million euros to 11 plants.
The same report says two Moorburg units won closure premiums in that round, and that RWE received 216 million euros of the total.
The amount Vattenfall received for Moorburg was not disclosed in the source.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: Vattenfall sued Germany in 2009 under the Energy Charter Treaty over limits on cooling water drawn from the Elbe, seeking 1.4 billion euros.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the dispute closed in August 2010 in a settlement on confidential terms, and the press suggested water-use limits had been loosened.
- None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: the amount of Vattenfall's own closure premium.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Coal plant operators get 317 million euros in German closure rounddpa-AFX / Börse Online · 2020-12-01
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Germany agreed €2.6bn and €1.75bn coal exit payments to RWE and LEAG Germany · 2019–2023
- RWE (Company) — here: Operator that received 216 million euros; there: recipient of early-closure compensation
- Government of Germany (Government) — here: Government that paid the closure premiums; there: agreed to pay the compensation
- RWE drops 1.4 billion euro claim over Dutch coal ban; Hemweg-8 closure announced Netherlands · 2019–2023
- Vattenfall (Company) — here: Operator of the Moorburg plant; there: Operator of the Hemweg-8 coal plant in Amsterdam
- RWE (Company) — here: Operator that received 216 million euros; there: Filed the Dutch treaty claim and received German lignite exit compensation
- RWE sought €1.4bn from the Netherlands over its coal phase-out Netherlands · 2019–2023
- Vattenfall (Company) — here: Operator of the Moorburg plant; there: claimant against Germany; compensation recipient
- RWE (Company) — here: Operator that received 216 million euros; there: claimant against the Netherlands; compensation recipient
- Developers dispute wake losses from RWE's Dogger Bank South wind farm United Kingdom · 2025–2026
- RWE (Company) — here: Operator that received 216 million euros; there: Developer of Dogger Bank South, disputed by Equinor and SSE
- Germany brings coal exit forward to 2030 as Lützerath is demolished Germany · 2023
- RWE (Company) — here: Operator that received 216 million euros; there: Mining company; recipient of state payment for early coal exit
- Hyphen green hydrogen project (Namibia) Namibia · 2020–2026
- Government of Germany (Government) — here: Government that paid the closure premiums; there: Declared Hyphen a strategic foreign project in 2024
- Lliuya v RWE Peru · 2025
- RWE (Company) — here: Operator that received 216 million euros; there: Defendant; recipient of coal-exit compensation
- Offshore wind wake effect disputes (Ørsted, UK and Germany) United Kingdom · 2020–2026
- RWE (Company) — here: Operator that received 216 million euros; there: Developer of Dogger Bank South
- Only Ghana has an announced Global Shield guarantee as 17 countries wait Global · 2022
- Government of Germany (Government) — here: Government that paid the closure premiums; there: Contributor (about 170 million euros)
- Poland takes Germany to EU court over 35,000 tonnes of illegal waste Poland · 2023–2024
- Government of Germany (Government) — here: Government that paid the closure premiums; there: defendant
- Vattenfall's nuclear exit claim against Germany ends in 2021 settlement Germany · 2009–2021
- Vattenfall (Company) — here: Operator of the Moorburg plant; there: company that brought the claims