Thursday January 31, 08:19 AM
German utility RWE says EU pollution rights plan killed power plant
FRANKFURT (AFP) - The second biggest German energy company, RWE (Xetra: 703712 - news) , has cancelled a proposed coal-powered electricity plant owing to EU plans to make companies pay for the right to pollute, a press report said Thursday.
"We are certainly ready to make investments," RWE boss Ulrich Jobs told the Financial Times Deutschland.
"But we will only pursue new projects if economic conditions are back in place."
The 2.2-billion-euro (3.3-billion-dollar) project planned in western Saarland had been withdrawn in November (Frankfurt: A0S9N7 - news) following its defeat in a local referendum.
But RWE has now decided against building it elsewhere because the company would have to pay for tradeable carbon emissions quotas for the plant under European Union regulations currently being discussed in Brussels.
The EU commission wants to sell CO2 emissions permits that are currently distributed for free, to encourage industries to reduce pollution.
Many European industrialists oppose the plan, saying it would lead to the closure of factories and the loss of jobs.
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