OVG allows expropriation: coal mining in Nochten continues

Schedule for coal phase-out is clearly regulated

The OVG's decision had already been issued on December 10, and the court has now set out its reasons. According to the court, the neighbor's application was rejected because her main argument that the opencast mine was neither compatible with the Federal Climate Protection Act nor the constitutional requirement of climate protection was not convincing. The roadmap for phasing out coal is regulated for each opencast lignite mine and each individual power plant. Accordingly, the Boxberg and Schwarze Pumpe power plants were not to be decommissioned until the end of 2038.

"With reference to the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court, the Senate considers this statutory provision to be constitutional," the OVG stated. Furthermore, the public interest in the unrestricted maintenance of the power supply by the two power plants, for which there is no sufficient coal substitute supply, outweighs the interests asserted by the applicant.

The Nochten opencast lignite mine has been in operation since 1968 and the lignite extracted is used to generate electricity in the Boxberg and Schwarze Pumpe power plants.