Coal

Hard coal

Interesting facts about hard coal

Interesting facts about hard coal
The subsidised hard coal mining industry in Germany ended on December 31, 2018 with the closure of the last remaining mines in Bottrop and Ibbenbüren.
Interesting facts about hard coal
The termination has been carried out in a socially acceptable manner and on a legal basis.
Interesting facts about hard coal
100% of the required hard coal is imported, mainly from Russia, the USA and Australia.
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History

The hard coal industry in Germany gained in economic importance during the industrial revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries. Production increased steadily, reaching an annual peak of more than 200 million tonnes at the beginning of the Second World War. After WW2, German hard coal was used in the electricity, steel and heat supply industries. In the mid-1950s, more than 600,000 employees in 170 mines extracted 150 million tonnes of hard coal every year. This situation changed at the end of the 1950s. German hard coal could no longer compete efficiently in the world market since its extraction was carried out exclusively through underground mining. It still needed subsidies from public authorities right up until 2018. In recent decades, imported coal and, above all, cheaper crude oil have replaced domestic hard coal. The current situation of the German hard coal industry is the result of a continuous adaptation process which started with the founding of the Ruhrkohle AG – a merger of 51 Ruhr area mines – in 1969.

Review

On 7 February 2007, the German Federal Government, the Federal States of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland, the RAG AG and the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE) agreed to end the subsidised production of hard coal in Germany at the end of 2018 in a socially-acceptable manner. The phase-out process is governed by the “socially acceptable phasing-out of subsidised hard coal mining in Germany” framework agreement of 14 August 2007 and by the German Hard Coal Financing Act, which came into force in December 2007. For more on this, please refer to chapter 6 on state subsidies and tax concessions. See chapter 8 on the energy transition for more information on the end of hard coal power generation.

Economic importance

Consumption of hard coal in Germany was significantly higher in 2021 compared with 2020 and increased by more than a quarter to around 37.9 million tonnes SKE (SKE: hard coal unit, a unit that is mainly used in central Europe). In 2021, hard coal in Germany therefore still covered 8.9% of primary energy consumption and contributed 9.3% to German gross electricity generation. The last two German hard coal mines closed at the end of 2018. Germany now has to meet all its hard coal requirements through imports because German hard coal mining had been phased out. In 2021, Germany imported around 20.5 million tonnes (49.9%) from Russia making Russia again the largest supplier, followed by the US (17.2%) and Australia (13.4%). Imports from Poland, the only remaining significant coal exporting country in the EU-27, slightly increased to 1.6 million tonnes. Of this, around 1.3 million tonnes was coke. Overall, Germany imported 41.1 million tonnes of hard coal and hard coal products (primarily coke) in 2021. At the end of 2021 (2022), 1,034 (1,011) persons were employed in German hard-coal mining.1

Extraction

Internationally, hard coal is mined both in underground and open-cast mines. In Europe, coal is mined almost exclusively underground and that was the case in Germany until the end of 2018. Coal was mined underground in Germany down to a depth of up to 1,400 m, exclusively using the “longwall mining” technique. Longwall mining involves removing the coal along a coal face up to 450 m long with a coal plough or cutting it with a longwall shearer between two extraction lines. Several thousand tonnes of coal can be mined from a longwall every day. The process is widely used today, with around 50% of the world’s hard coal being extracted using this method. The most important German deposits were in North Rhine-Westphalia in the Aachen coalfield, the Ruhr and the Saarland. In addition to these, there are a large number of smaller hard coal mining areas in Germany.2

Uses

In 2021, power stations accounted for roughly 46% of the total consumption of hard coal, the steel industry accounted for 49%, while other producing industries, the domestic heating sector and small consumers accounted for some 5%.

Lignite​

Interesting facts about lignite

Interesting facts about lignite
With production at around 126.3 million tonnes in 2021, lignite accounted for almost 9.1% of primary energy production in Germany.
Interesting facts about lignite
Lignite accounted for around 18% of gross electricity generation in 2021.
Interesting facts about lignite
The coalfield in the Rhineland is the largest lignite coalfield in Europe and Germany is Europe’s largest producer of lignite.
Interesting facts about lignite
Germany is the world's second-largest producer of soft lignite after China and uses its production entirely for its own consumption.
Interesting facts about lignite
Germany covers nearly 100% of its lignite requirements from its domestic reserves.
Interesting facts about lignite
Recultivation and compensation for land required for mining are important issues for the German lignite mining industry.
Interesting facts about lignite
Germany will gradually reduce its use of coal to produce electricity and end the practice entirely by the end of 2038 at the latest3
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History

As early as the 17th century in Germany, lignite was being produced as a replacement fuel for wood, which was becoming increasingly scarce. With increasing industrialisation and the development of new deposits, the 19th century saw an increase in lignite production from 170,000 tonnes in 1840 to 40 million tonnes in 1900. This trend continued unabated in the 20th century until production reached an all-time peak in 1985 with 433 million tonnes produced that year. Much of this increase in overall German lignite production was attributable to the East German lignite coalfields. Following German reunification production of lignite in the East German lignite coalfields fell by 67 % between 1989 and 1994. Total German production fell from 410 million tonnes to 207 million tonnes during this period. Reserves of lignite totalling 3.7 billion tonnes are accessible via developed and definitely planned open-cast mines. Further reserves total around 32 billion tonnes.

Economic importance

Lignite is still one of the most important sources of energy in Germany, accounting for a share of around 9.1 % of primary energy consumption. This is behind oil, natural gas and renewable energies but ahead of hard coal. The amount mined annually was around 126.3 million tonnes in 2021, which represents an increase of 17.6% over the previous year. Germany covers nearly 100% of its lignite requirements from its domestic reserves. The value of the lignite extracted in Germany in 2021 amounted to €1.87 billion. Lignite accounted for around 14% of the total value of natural resources mined in Germany in 2021. This means that lignite was the third most important natural resource in Germany, in terms of the value of production. In 2021, Germany’s share of global lignite production was 11.9%. Germany is Europe’s largest producer of lignite and the world’s second-largest producer of soft lignite after China, but it is continuing to reduce lignite production in the context of the European climate targets, the compromise found by German society on the coal phase-out as a result of the Commission on “Growth, Structural Change and Employment” KWSB 2019 and the entry into force of the Act to Reduce and End Coal-Fired Power Generation (Kohleverstromungsbeendigungsgesetz – KVBG) in 2021. In October 2022, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and RWE AG agreed on key points for bringing forward the coal phase-out by eight years to 2030 in the Rhenish coalfield area. The law to accelerate the lignite phase-out in the Rhenish coalfield area, which came into force in December 2022, made the early phase-out binding. Germany has the third largest reserves after Russia and Australia. In 2021, exports of lignite increased by 15% to 1.23 million tonnes of lignite (including products). With the decline in lignite production in the wake of German reunification, the number of persons directly employed in lignite mining fell from 130,000 in 1990 to 6,670 in 2021, then slightly increased to 6,899 in 2022 2 (exclusive of persons employed in coal-fired power stations).

Extraction

Lignite is extracted in three areas (the Rhenish, Lausitz and Central German coalfields), where mining is only carried out in open-cast mines today. Lignite is currently mined in ten active open-cast mines in Germany. The lignite deposits in the Rhenish coalfield are in the Lower Rhine Basin in the triangle between the cities of Aachen, Mönchengladbach and Cologne. The Lausitz lignite coalfield, which also used to be called the east Elbe lignite coalfield, is a coalfield in south-east Brandenburg and north-east Saxony. Since German reunification, the Central German lignite coalfield is generally assigned to Saxony-Anhalt as well as the north-western part of Saxony and the extreme eastern part of Thuringia.

Uses

Around 90% of the lignite Germany produces is used to generate electricity and district heating. Due to the lower energy and higher water content of soft lignite as compared to hard coal, the economic benefits of lignite result from the combination of the open-cast mine and power plant being near the location of the lignite deposits. Around 10% of lignite produced is refined into solid or pulverised fuels for commercial use and private households (e.g. brown coal briquettes, pulverised lignite, fluidised bed lignite and lignite coke). Lignite contributes 18.8% (2021) of power generation in Germany. The domestic production of lignite covers the country’s annual consumption.

1[BA 2022] (Statistics of the coal industry), for a detailed source reference, see final note i.

2[BA 2022] (Statistics of the coal industry), for a detailed source reference, see final note i.

3In the Rhenish mining area, the lignite phase-out was brought forward to 2030. URL: https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/kohleausstieg-2030-2139228 (Accessed on 26 July 2023).

Glossar

In Federal States in which legislation does not include an excavation law and the State-level Nature Conservation Law does not apply to the extraction of non-energetic, ground-based natural resources in the context of dry excavations, this type of natural resource extraction falls within the scope of the relevant state building regulations.

Legal limitations also exist: State building regulations apply to the excavation of solid rock (limestone, basalt, etc.), for example, in quarries with an area of up to 10 hectares (ha) in which no blasting is carried out. In the event that this area is exceeded, or if water bodies are formed after completion of the extraction operations, the German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and/or Water Resources Act (WHG) are applicable.
In Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, the above-ground excavation of non-energetic, ground-based natural resources in the context of dry excavations is determined at state level by the existing excavation laws (AbgrG). For the excavation of solid rock (limestone, basalt, etc.) in quarries where blasting does not occur, the AbgrG applies to sites with an area of up to 10 ha. In the event that this area is exceeded, or if water bodies are formed after completion of the extraction operations, the German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and/or Water Resources Act (WHG) are applicable. In the other Federal States, this type of natural resources extraction is regulated by the respective state building regulations or by the state-level nature conservation laws.

In general, the AbgrG applies to those raw materials the excavation of which is not directly subject to mining law or the mining authorities. These raw materials include (in particular) gravel, sand, clay, loam, limestone, dolomite and other rocks, bog mud and clays. However, the jurisdiction between AbgrG and mining law can vary from case to case in the case of certain raw materials, such as quartz gravels. The requested authority must always verify its own jurisdiction in each case. The AbgrG also encompasses surface area usage and the subsequent rehabilitation of the area.
The German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) is the most important and practice-relevant law in the field of environmental law. It constitutes the basis for the approval of industrial and commercial installations. In the natural resources extraction industry, quarrying companies must have approval to extract stones and earth. Every quarrying area of 10 hectares or more must undergo a full approval procedure, including public participation and UVP (environmental impact assessment). A more simplified approval procedure is used for quarrying areas of less than 10 hectares.

The sphere of responsibility for the legal immission control approval procedure is fully specified in the Immission Control Acts of the Federal States. The Federal States are tasked with the administrative enforcement of the approval procedure. Each individual state’s Environment Ministry – the highest local immission protection authority – usually bears the responsibility for this procedure. Subordinate authorities include regional councils, district authorities and lower-level administrative authorities. Administrative jurisdiction generally lies with the lower-level administrative authorities.
The GDP measures the value of goods and services produced domestically (creation of value) within a given period (quarter, year). The Federal Office of Statistics calculates the GDP as follows: production value minus intermediate consumption = the gross value added; plus taxes on products and minus subsidies = GDP
The gross value added is calculated by deducting intermediate consumption from the production values, so it only includes the value added created during the production process. The gross value added is valued at manufacturing prices, i.e. without the taxes due (product taxes), but including the product subsidies received.

During the transition from gross value added (at manufacturing prices) to GDP, the net taxes (product taxes less product subsidies) are added globally to arrive at an assessment of the GDP at market prices’. Source: Destatis
The planning approval procedure under mining law is used for the approval procedure of a general operating plan for projects which require an environmental impact assessment (§§ 52(2a), in conjunction with 57 a of the BBergG).
There are different definitions and methodological approaches at the international as well as at the national level as to what subsidies are and how they are calculated. According to the definition of the German government’s subsidy report, this report considers federal subsidies for private companies and economic sectors (ie grants as cash payments and tax breaks as special tax exemptions) which are relevant to the budget. Subsidies at the federal level can be viewed via the subsidy reports of the federal states (see Appendix 5 of the German government subsidy report).
In compliance with § 68(1), Water Resources Act (WHG), the excavation of landowners’ natural resources such as gravel, sand, marl, clay, loam, peat and stone in wet extraction operations requires a planning approval procedure. The reason for this is that groundwater is exposed in wet extraction, resulting in above-ground water. The planning approval procedure is implemented by lower-level water authorities.

The procedural steps of the planning approval procedure are governed by the general provisions of §§ 72 to 78 of the Administrative Procedures Act (VerwVfG). Within the meaning of § 68(3), nos. 1 and 2 of the WHG, the plan may only be established or approved if an impairment of the common good is not to be expected and other requirements of the WHG as well as other public-law provisions are fulfilled.