Overview

• Werner Graf, leader of the Berlin Greens, publicly called for stopping plans for two new biomass plants at Reuter West and Klingenberg.
• He argued that burning wood is neither ecological nor financially responsible, labeling it “young coal” because of its carbon dioxide emissions.
• Graf warned that Berlin’s forests cannot meet the plants’ fuel needs, forcing imports from the Balkans and Russia and driving up prices.
• He urged shifting focus to geothermal research, heat pumps and waste-heat recovery, citing Potsdam’s 2023 geothermal borehole success and Hamburg’s recent move away from imported wood.
• Municipal utility BEW continues to pursue the inherited Vattenfall projects and faces 2026/2028 regional heating plan deadlines to outline climate-neutral alternatives.