But they can't announce that they suddenly need to build 10 gigawatts of fossil fueled gas power plants. It would be like admitting the sacred Energiewende had been a ghastly mistake that wasted billions of dollars on a reckless vanity quest to change the clouds. So instead, these new "power plants" with a focus on "gas-fired sites" must be convertible to run on hydrogen by 2045. Of course, they may never run on hydrogen, given that makes pipes brittle, leaks, and costs four times as much as natural gas, but it makes a good cover story.

This is exactly what I would do if I wanted to hide a major backflip and pretend this was just a slight variation on the renewables theme. (Especially if I had no scruples).

Note that the Reuters Blob-Media story (below) does not mention the words "fossil fuels" or "dispatchable" it just talks about the need to generate electricity over "a longer period of time".

The gas to hydrogen plant story is the PR cover and escape hatch from the Sacred Renewables Mission.

It's just another marker of how fast the renewable energy plan is coming undone…

Germany, EU reach general agreement on power plant strategy
By Holger Hansen and Christoph Steitz
January 16, 2026

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Germany said on Thursday it had reached an agreement with the European Commission on a plan to build new power stations, adding it would tender 12 gigawatts (GW) worth of capacity in 2026, with a focus on gas-fired sites.
This is a major step on Germany's path to ensure security of supply in light of the country's ongoing phase-out of coal-fired power capacity. "With the short-term tenders … we are also laying the foundation for a secure electricity supply in Germany in the future and thus for the competitiveness of our industry," Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said.
Most of the new capacity, 10 GW, must be able to generate electricity over a longer period of time to ensure steady supply, Germany's economy ministry said, adding that this included but was not limited to gas-fired power stations.