Major system-wide benefits are obtainable for European power producers that quickly replace coal with renewable energy, from avoiding fuel and carbon costs to new power export opportunities.
This was the conclusion of a modelling exercise by the Finish technology group Wärtsilä which studied two energy systems in particular: Germany and the Ukraine. These two countries have vastly different power systems and policies to phase-out coal – demonstrated by how the coal capacity gap can be met with renewable electricity, thermal power plants and energy storage.
“Our analysis from both sides of the coal exit spectrum is clear: value has been eroded from coal by low-cost renewable baseload,” said Jan Andersson, Wärtsilä market development manager for Europe.
