around 15% as of December 2013, and growing. In 2007, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the First Merkel cabinet (CDU/CSU and SPD) agreed to legislation to phase out Germany's hard coal mining sector. That did not mean that they supported phasing out coal in general. There were plans to build about 25 new plants in the coming years. Most German coal power plants were built in the 1960s, and have a low energy efficiency. Public sentiment against coal power plants was growing and the construction or planning of some plants was stopped. A number are under construction and still being built. No concrete plan is in place to reduce coal-fired electricity generation. As of October 2015, the remaining coal plants still under planning include: Niederaussem, Profen, and Stade. The coal plants then under construction included: Mannheim and Kraftwerk Datteln IV (it started 30 May 2020). Between 2012 and 2015, six new plants went online. All of these plants are 600–1800 MWe. In 2014, Germany's coal consumption dropped for the first time, having risen each year since the low during the 2009 recession. A 2014 study found that coal is not making a comeback in Germany, as is sometimes claimed. Rather renewables have more than offset the nuclear facilities that have been shut down as a result of Germany's nuclear phase-out (Atomausstieg). Hard coal plants now face financial stringency as their operating hours are cut back by the market. But in contrast, lignite-fired generation is in a safe position until the unless government policies change. To phase-out coal, Germany should seek to strength the emissions trading system (EU-ETS), consider a carbon tax, promote energy efficiency, and strengthen the use of natural gas as a bridge fuel. In 2016, the Third Merkel cabinet and affected lignite power plant operators , RWE, and Vattenfall reached an understanding (Verständigung) on the transfer of lignite power plant units into security standby (Überführung von Braunkohlekraftwerksblöcken in die Sicherheitsbereitschaft). As a result, eight lignite-fired power plants are to be mothballed and later closed, with the first plant scheduled to cease operation in October 2016 and the last in October 2019. The affected operators will receive state compensation for foregone profits. The European Commission has declared government plans to use €1.6billion of public financing for this purpose to be in line with EU state aid rules. A 2016 study found that the phase-out of lignite in Lusatia (Lausitz)