Company attributes
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RWE Group is a German power generation company primarily operating in Europe. It owns 46 gigawatts of power generation capacity: 37% from lignite and hard coal plants, 31% from gas plants, 21% from renewables, 6% from nuclear (which will be shut down by 2022), and 5% from other sources. Besides Germany, RWE's power plants are chiefly located in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United States for many onshore wind farms.
The company was founded in 1898 as Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk (RWE for short), a local electricity company supplying the city of Essen, where the company headquarters are still located.
RWE’s operating business is spread over four companies – all acting with a high degree of autonomy in their respective business areas.
- RWE Renewables
- RWE Generation
- RWE Power
- RWE Supply & Trading
Each of these companies is made up of further subsidiaries.
In 2011, the German Government decision to phase-out nuclear power was reintroduced, this decision meant by the end of 2022 all German nuclear power plants (NPPs) will be shut down. Until then RWE's remaining 2 operational NPPs in Lingen and Gundremmingen provide a capacity of around 2,600 MW of power. RWE Nuclear GmbH, managed by RWE Power AG, will be responsible for the post-operation, shutdown and legally prescribed decommissioning process of nuclear power plants, in addition to the proper packing of radioactive waste.