German Coal Miner Announces 7 GW RE Power By 2030

• LEAG has announced it will build 7 GW of wind and solar PV capacity in Germany by 2030
• It will be concentrated in Lusatia region of Germany where the company operates its lignite mines
• Over €10 billion investment will be required to set up this capacity in post mining areas of the company's opencast mines

Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG (LEAG), a lignite mining company in Germany, has unveiled plans to build 7 GW of wind and solar PV power generation systems on its post-mining areas in Lusatia by 2030 under the company's GigawattFactory plan it unveiled recently on the sidelines of the East German Energy Forum.

LEAG shared that the post-mining areas of its opencast mines represent around 33,000 hectares, and renewable energy systems installed here can be directly connected to the German and European high-voltage grid.

It expects an investment worth over €10 billion to set up this project. The company wants the federal government to prioritize renewable energy assets on post-opencast mining areas for the 7 GW target to be achieved by 2030.

"The GigawattFactory brings massive advantages to the municipalities and companies in the region," said LEAG CEO Thorsten Kramer pointing at the skyrocketing prices of electricity and gas Germany is currently paying. "We offer a new quality of green energy as needed: mobility with green hydrogen, green heat from buffer storage or price-stable direct electricity supply – this will be a magnet for new companies that are desperately looking for new locations with green energy."

According to a Reuters article, LEAG's plans comprise building a 1 GW solar park that could come online in early 2026.

Details about LEAG's GigawattFactory are available on its website.