FRANKFURT – Germany's hard coal imports in 2022 could rise 7.7% on the year to 42-million tonnes due to economic recovery, high prices of rivalling gas and the need to compensate for the closure of nuclear power plants, industry association VDKi said on Friday.
The VDKi also published preliminary data showing Europe's biggest coal importer bought 39-million tonnes of the commodity in 2021, 24.5% more than in 2020, as low wind speeds in 2021 increased the need for thermal generation to plug supply gaps.