How will Germany's hastened exit from coal affect villages near mines?

The lignite-fired power station Neurath in western Germany at sunset. Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa

You can see the white clouds of steam rising from the coal plant from dozens of kilometres away on the flat landscape of Germany's Rhine area.

The power station in the lignite mining area west of Cologne generates electricity round the clock for the European grid and is expected to keep puffing away for some years yet.

But Germany is pushing to phase out coal in favour of green energy, as extracting coal from gigantic open-cast mines and converting it into electricity creates masses of carbon dioxide.

The process has already begun, with capacities at three power plants shut down in 2021. Under the current plan, Germany will stop generating electricity from lignite by 2038 at the latest.

However, the new government in Berlin wants to exit from coal even sooner than originally planned – "ideally" by 2030, according to lawmakers.

No one knows how that will happen but people living in the lignite mining area between Cologne, Aachen and Monchengladbach have been wondering what's next for quite some time.

The Garzweiler open-cast mine, some 50km north-west of Cologne, Germany. Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa

Berlin's switch to renewables may not come soon enough for some.

Many people living in small villages near mines that are due to be cleared in order to allow the mines to expand have already left their homes.

Climate activists are fighting for the area, drawing energy from their successful fight to save Hambach, an ancient forest that was due to be cleared for coal mining.

Now they are looking at Lutzerath, a former village on the edge of the Garzweiler II open-cast mine near Monchengladbach.

Environmental activists have been camping out here for months, supporting the last people who are reluctant to leave their village, among those due to be cleared for the mine.

Environmental activists have set up a tree house in a forest near the village of Lutzerath to campaign against the expansion of the nearby Garzweiler II open-cast mine. Photo: David Young/dpa

A farmer is one of the final residents who is holding out against being expropriated. He's suing in court and while he lost his initial case, he's now looking ahead to a hearing before the Munster Higher Administrative Court.

The new government has committed to saving five villages, who once had 1,500 inhabitants, perched on the edge of the open-cast mine.

Before the September elections ushered in the government under Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, the fate of Keyenberg, Beverath, Kuckum and Ober- and Unterwestrich was only going to be decided in 2026.

Faced with such uncertainty, most of the residents have already sold up, moved away or reached a deal with electricity giant RWE, leaving the villages more or less deserted.

Take Keyenberg, west of the Garzweiler mine. The shutters are closed in the windows of many of the brick houses. The streets are empty and the pub is shut.

The primary school is going to close down at the end of the school year. But the Keyenberg baker doesn't want to budge.

The five rural open-cast villages are part of the town of Erkelenz and people's views are mixed, according to Mayor Stephan Muckel.

Some residents want to stay put while most have already left or are preparing to leave.

It is not clear what will happen to the villages, he says, adding that he hopes whatever plans are made in the future takes local concerns into consideration.

"The most important thing will be that this uncertainty stops," says Muckel, referring to the roller coaster of emotions residents have faced over the past few years.

Some 40,000 people have been resettled in the Rhenish mining area since the 1940s – all to satisfy machines' and people's need for energy.

The mines do provide jobs, too, with some 9,000 linked to lignite and power generation.

Once coal is phased out, the open-cast mines are set to be turned into lakes. Hambach and Garzweiler are to be filled with water from the Rhine, while Inden will be filled from the Ruhr.

Workers are already preparing to ensure that the banks of the wide quarries are sufficiently stable.

Cologne's regional government is also working on what happens post lignite and is inviting proposals for the interim use of banks and embankments, perhaps for cycle paths, agriculture or photovoltaics.

After all, it will take some 40 years to turn the craters of the open-cast mines into lakes. – dpa