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Forest area in danger: Court decides on coal phase-out in Lusatia!
The OVG Bautzen decides on forest removal in the Nochten opencast mine, which affects the Lusatian coal industry.
Forest area in danger: Court decides on coal phase-out in Lusatia!
In the new legal dispute over the Nochten opencast mine There are current developments in northern Upper Lusatia that could once again turn the lignite landscape in the region upside down. Specifically, it is about the plans of Lausitz Energie mining AG (LEAG) to excavate a 0.5 hectare area of forest that contains the valuable raw material lignite. Loud Sächsische.de The owners of the forest are defending themselves in court against this step, which could potentially call into question the phase-out of coal in Lusatia by 2028.
The Brown coal mining in Germany, which is regionally concentrated primarily in the Rhineland, Lusatia and Central Germany regions, has shown many faces in recent decades. In 2019, a total of 131.3 million tons of lignite were mined, and around 90% of these raw materials found their way into power plants to generate electricity and district heating. But the industry faces enormous challenges, including climate targets and laws that regulate the phase-out of coal-fired power generation by 2038.
The role of the Bautzen Higher Administrative Court
The Bautzen Higher Administrative Court has to deal with an extensive file of 10,000 pages in the case. Court spokesman Peter Kober emphasized that further documents and expert reports must be evaluated before a decision is made. The decision in this urgent procedure could be made before the end of the year and has the potential to significantly influence the operation of the brown coal mine.
The piece of forest, which is scheduled to be excavated from the beginning of 2026, is particularly valuable because it contains almost 24 million tons of coal. This coal could either be burned into electricity at the nearby Boxberg power plant by 2028 or processed at the Schwarze Pumpe briquette factory. There have been various resettlements in the region in recent years. In recent decades, mining has resulted in the forced relocation of around 100,000 people.
The Nochten opencast mine in focus
The Nochten opencast mine, where the controversial forest area is located, has been active since 1960 and is one of the most important brown coal opencast mines in Germany. According to the operators, up to 18 million tons of brown coal can be mined annually. The chemical composition of coal has a calorific value of 8,750 kJ/kg, which makes it particularly lucrative for energy production.
But the future of the opencast mine is uncertain. While LEAG is pushing forward with its plans, there is resistance that comes not only from the population. Climate protection organizations are also opposing the previous mining plans and show that the discussion about brown coal mining is far from over.
Overall, it remains to be seen how the legal disputes will develop and what impact they will have on the regional lignite industry in Lusatia. The coming months could be crucial for the coal phase-out and further operational processes in this traditionally industrial region.