Monday 20 April 2020

Austria’s last coal power plant shuts down

Austrian power provider Verbund has shut down its coal-fired district heating plant in the state of Styria as planned.

The closure of the last operational coal-fired unit means Austria is now the second European country since Belgium in 2016 to end coal use for electricity generation and paves the way for a switch to a 100% renewable power supply by 2030.

Over 34 years, the power plant produced more than 30 billion kWh of electricity and 20 billion kWh of district heating.

Leonore Gewessler, Minister for Climate Protection, said: "The closure of the last coal-fired power plant is a historic step: Austria is finally getting out of coal power supply and is taking another step towards phasing out fossil fuels."

Kathrin Gutmann, Campaign Director for Europe Beyond Coal, said: "With Austria going coal-free today it becomes clear that the momentum to leave coal behind has not slowed, despite the significant health and economic challenges we’re facing.”