The lesson learned from Germany's first public tender for early coal-fired power plant decommissioning is clear. There's plenty of interest in dropping out of class, and Northern Germany's Moorburg will barely manage to live long enough to experience its first day at school.

Both block A and B at the 1.6 GW power plant aged only five years are among the solicitation's winners and are in line to close by July 1, 2021, at the latest.