The Netherlands to face out coal-generated power by 2030

The government has committed to close all coal plants, including three that were completed just a couple of years ago

The government has committed to close all coal plants, including three that were completed just a couple of years ago

The Netherlands' new government has recently announced plans to close all coal power plants by 2030, while the ban of all petrol and diesel-powered cars by the same year has also been proposed. The closure will include three of the most efficient plans, which became operational in 2015. The new measures should help the country achieve its goal of a 49% reduction in emissions, as well as increase the EU's emissions goals from 40 percent to 55%.

However, the decision is considered controversial as the five remaining plants in the country have cost billions of euros to build and three of them are almost brand-new. In fact, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) had published a report last November titled ‘The Dutch Coal Mistake: How three brand-new power plants in the Netherlands are at risk already of becoming stranded assets’. Gerard Wynn, energy finance consultant at IEEFA, underlines in a report that the government's announcement "sent a dramatic signal to electricity markets today that no investment in coal-fired power in Europe is safe", briefing that "Today's announcement highlights the risk of investing in either new or existing coal-fired power, and the lesson is clear: National coal phase-out plans such as this, combined with the rise of renewables and the impact on demand of improved efficiency, put old electricity-production models at risk."

Source: Science alert