German energy giant RWE to burn extra coal as Russian gas supplies dwindle

An excavator photographed at a lignite mine operated by RWE on April 8, 2022. RWE says it wants to be carbon neutral by 2040.

The chief financial officer of German energy firm RWE told CNBC that it will burn more coal in the short term, but insists that it will be carbon neutral in the future.

Europe scrambles to shore up energy supplies as the war in Ukraine continues.

According to Eurostat, Russia was the biggest supplier of both oil and gas to the EU. After Western nations imposed sanctions on the Kremlin, natural gas flows to Europe have been reduced.

In order to make up for its lack of Russian gas, Germany has decided to recommission some of its coal-fired power plants.

Muller said that RWE was helping the German government manage the energy crisis. Additional coal capacity is also being brought back.

The power stations will be brought back to the grid in October.

Lignite, also known as brown coal, is considered particularly bad for the environment by RWE. Each year, RWE Power extracts millions of metric tons of coal.

The Essen-headquartered business has said it wants to be carbon neutral by the year 2040.

Coal is the dirtiest, mostpolluting way of producing energy and it has a significant effect on the environment. Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulates and nitrogen oxides are some of the potentially dangerous emissions produced by coal burning.

RWE's Mller said that they need to find the security of supply in the short term.

We feel it is our duty to support the German government in bringing back capacity in the short term, but to be very clear, it doesn't change our strategy," he said.

In the short term, we need to burn more coal, but we need to accelerate the build out of renewable energy so that we still meet our targets in the long term.

In the first half of the year, adjusted net income came in at 1.6 billion euros, compared to 870 million euros in the first half of the previous year.

In the first half of the year, the company invested 2 billion euros in its green portfolio. There will be more than 5 billion euro investments by the end of the year.

Compared to the first half of the year, electricity generation from renewable sources was 20% higher.