The EU Commission approves a competitive tender mechanism to compensate for the early closure of hard coal-fired power plants in Germany

State aid: Commission approves competitive tender mechanism to compensate for early closure of hard coal-fired power plants in Germany* The European Commission found that a competitive tender mechanism introduced by Germany to compensate hard coal-fired power plants for phasing out earlier than foreseen promotes European Union climate objectives and is in line with State aid rules. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: «Phasing out hard coal-fired power plants contributes in a crucial way to the transformation to a climate-neutral economy, in line with the European Green Deal objectives. Germany's plans to provide incentives for the early closure of