According to the German federal government's climate protection targets, there will be a gradual 'lights out' for lignite-based electricity well before 2030. Simulations show that the currently authorized strip mines in eastern Germany would not be depleted of coal if the climate protection targets for 2030 were complied with. This makes planning for new mines or the expansion of existing ones superfluous. For the planning security of all the actors involved, policy makers should stop granting permits for additional surface mines. In terms of the follow-up costs of lignite mining, the issue is whether or not the companies' reserves are high enough and immune to insolvency as well. Vattenfall, a major power company that also serves Germany, sold its lignite divi-sion to Czech Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH) last fall. Given this context, the new ownership structures in the eastern German lignite industry have become a matter of importance. Based on the calculations in the simulation and optimistic assumptions, the current reserves of 1.5 billion euros for the Lusatia region are sufficient to cover recultivation costs. However, alternative scenarios show significant shortfalls. For this reason, policy makers should work toward independent, transparent cost estimates. Additional measures should be considered as required, such as the creation of a public sector fund to permanently protect the population against being forced to takeon the costs of recultivation. This is also an important theme for the government's new Commission on Growth, Structural Change, and Regional Development (Kommission Wachstum, Strukturwandel und Regionalentwicklung). Individual federal states also have key roles to play in the creation of a dependable roadmap. For example, the government of Brandenburg is now in the process of revising its energy strategy for 2030 (Energiestrategie 2030).