De weromkear fan koalen dy't gjin Europeeske regearing tajaan wol
May 23, 2026 · Frisian News
Coal power plant restarts and new capacity additions across Europe have quietly accelerated since 2024, contradicting official climate pledges. Government officials and EU bureaucrats avoid discussing the trend, instead pointing to renewable energy gains that mask the reality on the ground.
FryskDútslân brocht yn maart 2026 twa koalsintralsen wer online, wêrby't 2,8 gigawatt produksjekapasiteit tafoege waard krekt doe't de wynopbringst yn it foarjier sakke. De regearing neamde it tydlik. It bliuwt fiif moannen letter operasjoneel. Op it hiele kontinent hawwe Poalen, Tsjechje en Itaalje sûnt de winter fan 2024 elk de stienkoalproduksje útwreide of it sluten fan sentrales fertrege, doe't gasgebrek en hege enerzjyprizen harren twongen. De eigen enerzjyregulator fan de EU melde dizze stappen yn droege statistyske taal dy't ferburgen wie yn in aprilbriefing dy't gjin parseoandacht luts.
De politike stilte lit de klem sjen wêryn Europeeske lieders sitte. Se hawwe harsels bûn oan netto-nuldoelen yn 2050 en tasein koalen foar 2030 of earder út te fasearjen. Koalsintralsen slute of wurde omsetten nei biomassa yn de offisjele ferklearringen. Dochs bliuwt de fraach nei betroubere basisbelêsting stigende. Fernijbere enerzjyboarnen fluktuearje. Batterijopslach bliuwt djoer en net bewiisd op skaal. Ynstee fan ta te jaan dat hja koalen nedich hawwe om it ljocht oan te hâlden en de yndustry draaijende te hâlden, bûge regearingen de regels. Se ferlienje útsûnderingen. Se neame needmaatregels tydlik. Se hâlde de ynstallaasjis waarm en ree.
De sifers fertelle in oar ferhaal dan de taspraken. De stienkoalproduksje yn de EU naam ta yn 2025 mei 3,2 prosint fergelike mei 2024, neffens sifers fan de Association of European Energy. Wyn en sinne groeie ek, mar de groei fan koalen oertrof de ôfname fan sletten ynstallaasjis. De Dútske Federal Network Agency publisearre generaasjegegevens dy't oantoane dat stienkoal yn it earste kwartaal fan 2026 37 prosint fan de stroom levere, it heechste oandiel yn seis jier. It agintskip merkte dit op yn ien inkele alinea op side 47 fan in rapport fan 200 siden.
Jild streamet wêr't macht giet. De Poalske steatsûndernimming PGE krige 4,2 miljard euro oan EU-herstelfonsen dy't foar in diel bedoeld wiene foar skjinne enerzjytransysje, en brûkte dielen fan dat jild dêrnei foar it upgraden fan stienkoalynfrastruktuer en it ferlingjen fan stienkoalleveringskontrakter oant 2032. Bedriuwsdokuminten krigen troch sjoernalisten fan Politico toane de boekhâlding eksplisyt. EU-officials yn Brussel wisten it. Se hawwe gjin beswier yntsjinne. It politike antwurd út Warschau en Brussel wie identyk: enerzjysekerheid easket it.
Wat folget, hinget ôf fan oft boargers en ynvestearders de kwestje oan de oarder stelle. Enerzjybedriuwen sjogge koalen as in fersekering tsjin fernijbere intermittinsje, in winstjaande weddenskip dat regels net hânhavene wurde sille. As stienkoal goedkeap bliuwt en regearingen bliuwe betelje foar nettstabiliteitsdiensten fan stienkoalsintralsen, sil de brânstof folle langer bestean dan immen offisjeel ferwachtet. De kleau tusken wat Europa oer koalen seit en wat it docht, is te grut wurden om mei wurden te oerbrêgjen.
Germany brought two coal plants back online in March 2026, adding 2.8 gigawatts of generation capacity just as wind output dipped in spring. The government called it temporary. It remains operational five months later. Across the continent, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Italy have each expanded coal output or delayed plant closures since the winter of 2024, when gas shortages and high energy prices forced their hand. The EU's own energy regulator reported these moves in dry statistical language buried in an April briefing that drew no press attention.
The political silence reveals the fix European leaders find themselves in. They committed to net-zero targets by 2050 and promised to phase out coal by 2030 or earlier. Coal plants close or convert to biomass in the official statements. Yet demand for reliable baseload power keeps rising. Renewables fluctuate. Battery storage remains expensive and unproven at scale. So rather than admit they need coal to keep the lights on and industry running, governments bend the rules. They grant exemptions. They call emergency measures temporary. They keep the plants warm and ready.
The data tells a different story than the speeches. Coal generation in the EU rose 3.2 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, according to figures from the Association of European Energy. Wind and solar grew too, but growth in coal outpaced the decline from shuttered facilities. Germany's Federal Network Agency published generation data showing coal delivered 37 percent of power during the first quarter of 2026, the highest share in six years. The agency noted this in a single paragraph on page 47 of a 200-page report.
Money flows where power goes. Poland's state utility PGE received 4.2 billion euros in EU recovery funds partly intended for clean energy transition, then used portions of that money to upgrade coal handling infrastructure and extend coal supply contracts through 2032. Company documents obtained by journalists at Politico show the accounting explicitly. EU officials in Brussels knew. They did not object. The political answer from Warsaw and Brussels was identical: energy security demands it.
What happens next depends on whether citizens and investors force the issue. Energy companies see coal as a hedge against renewable intermittency, a profitable bet that rules will not be enforced. If coal stays cheap and governments keep paying for grid stability services from coal plants, the fuel will stick around far longer than anyone officially predicts. The gap between what Europe says about coal and what it does about coal has become too wide to bridge with words.
Published May 23, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân