Coal Supply Competition in Germany to the Year 2000

Abstract

Coal is the only significant domestic energy source in Germany. Surface mining of browncoal and its utilization for power generation is economic, while the domestic hard coal industry is maintained for reasons of security of supply despite high costs of the underground operations. Over past decades, however, the size of the industry has been declining sharply. Long-term energy-political agreements guarantee sales of subsidised hard coal to the electricity and steel sectors up to 2005, but on a smaller scale than today. Brown coal use in eastern Germany is also set to decline further from its present level for structural and environmental reasons, while the use of brown coal in western Germany will remain constant. Hard coal imports, on the other hand, are likely to rise. The background of these developments is described in detail, as is the German coal policy. Coal supply is forecast up to the year 2000. The current energy supply structure in Germany as well as its future development are determined by a number of conditions, three of which will be discussed here as relevant to the topic of this paper. A more specific analysis of the hard coal industry, its development and political setting will be presented, followed by a forecast of the coal supply in 2000. The three basic conditions are as follows: Germany is, apart from coal, a country poor in energy resources. German energy policy is based on a balance of three major goals: security of energy supply, environmentally acceptable energy supply and energy supply at low cost. Unification of the two parts of Germany is being followed by a structural change of energy supply and this will continue.