Germany to shut down coal-fired plants, extend power grid: sources

The German government decided on Thursday to order the shutdown of several coal-fired plants in order to reach its ambitious climate goals by 2020, government sources told Reuters. Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of her two junior coalition parties also settled a dispute over high-voltage power lines which are planned to carry green energy from the breezy north to the industrial south, the sources said. Energy minister Sigmar Gabriel