Germany’s power plant strategy
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Germany’s power plant strategy is designed to ensure security of electricity supply as nuclear and coal-fired generation are phased out.
Following an agreement in principle with the European Commission in January 2026, the government plans to launch a 12 GW capacity tender before the end of 2026.
However, the design of this tender will be critical. While long duration energy storage (LDES) can make a significant contribution to security of supply, there is a real risk that current tender criteria may exclude storage technologies in favour of gas-fired power stations.
A strategy focused primarily on new gas capacity would increase Germany’s dependence on energy imports and expose consumers to higher costs — a particularly pressing concern given today’s geopolitical uncertainty.
This new study, commissioned by Field Energy and delivered by LCP Delta, explores how LDES can play a central role in delivering reliable power while reducing costs and risk for the German electricity system.
Explore the findings and understand the implications for Germany’s future power system.
Access the reportScroll down for our key findings
The role of BESS assets in ensuring security of supply in Germany
Long-duration BESS assets provide dispatchable, secure power, similar to gas plants.
Germany will need additional firm capacity to ensure security of supply. Long-duration batteries can provide dispatchable, firm capacity that needs Germany’s system needs. Our modelling shows that long-duration batteries can close even longer supply gaps in combination with gas asset. The main reason is that most supply scarcity events last for a few hours, not days.
The German power system does not require 10 GW of newbuild gas capacity.
Long-duration BESS assets with durations above 10 hours can ensure security of supply at levels similar to gas plants in a scenario where of the 10 GW tendered capacity, 2 GW of gas is replaced with 2+ GW of long-duration BESS. As such, long-duration BESS can replace some gas capacity. From the system’s perspective, even more then 2 GW would be possible.
Newbuild gas capacity increases the subsidy costs and overall costs for consumers.
New build gas plants require higher subsidy levels than BESS assets. This results in higher subsidy costs for gas capacity compared to long-duration BESS. Replacing some of the newbuild gas capacity with long-duration BESS can result in significant yearly savings for consumers.
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With key policy decisions approaching, this report provides timely insight into how Germany can meet its security of supply objectives without locking in unnecessary costs or fuel dependency — and why LDES should be allowed to compete on a level playing field.
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