The Onyx Power coal-fired power station on the Rotterdam Maasvlakte will close. That is what outgoing State Secretary Dilan Yesilgöz (Climate, VVD) announced on Tuesday in a statement press release. The owner will receive a subsidy of up to 212.5 million euros for the voluntary closure.
A number of conditions are attached to this subsidy and to the closing date, a spokesperson for the State Secretary informed NRC. The owner, the American investor Riverstone, must have a suitable plan for the dozens of employees who may lose their jobs and is discussing this with the trade union FNV.
It is therefore not yet certain when the plant will close exactly. “That is not in our hands, but we hope for a successful conclusion,” said the spokesman. If the agreements are in place, the power plant will stop burning coal within two months and dismantle the plant within three years.
Three megatons
The outgoing cabinet is closing the power plant to meet the climate targets and hopes to be able to reduce CO₂ emissions by a quarter. According to the ministry, the coal-fired power station would be responsible for approximately three megatons of CO₂ emissions annually. The cabinet has been in talks with the company about the closure for some time. The owner was the only one of all coal-fired power stations to accept an earlier offer from the cabinet to close the doors for a fee.
“Step by step, we are phasing out the coal-fired power stations in the Netherlands and making our energy supply cleaner,” writes State Secretary Yesilgöz. According to the ministry, the remaining three coal-fired power stations are still needed to supply electricity if green power suppliers cannot supply enough, for example due to unfavorable weather conditions.
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