Natural gas took a further hammering in Europe's biggest economy last year as Germany's cash-strapped power generators switched increasingly to renewables and cheaper coal and lignite. BDEW, the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries, warned last month that utilities with gas-fired units face a "critical economic" future. While plants run on coal and lignite remain profitable, clean spark spreads ?the profit margin left over after buying expensive, generally Russian, natural gas, as well as carbon permits ?have turned negative.
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