Overview
- Brussels cleared up to 12 gigawatts of state‑supported, flexible gas capacity as reserve power to backstop Dunkelflauten and the coal phase‑out.
- The authorization caps Berlin’s earlier 20 GW request and sits alongside a 29 GW capacity mechanism that pays for available reserves, including batteries, biogas and demand response.
- The German government plans competitive tenders in spring 2026, with the new units slated to be in service by 2031.
- All new stations must be built hydrogen‑ready and may run on gas until supplies of clean hydrogen scale, with full climate‑neutral operation required by 2045 and staged conversion commitments of 2 GW by 2040 and another 2 GW by 2043.
- Funding for the capacity payments remains undecided, with options ranging from the federal budget to a new consumer levy, as political and public debate questions costs, adequacy and fuel availability.