Permits for biomass power plant in Diemen legally granted

The province of North Holland has rightly issued permits to energy company Vattenfall for the construction of a biomass power station in Diemen. This is apparent from three judgments of the District Court of Noord-Holland.

On September 9, 2019 and April 10, 2020, an environmental and nature permit was granted by the Provincial Executive in Noord-Holland. Vattenfall wants to build the biomass plant on the site where there are now two gas plants and an auxiliary heat plant.

Vattenfall drew up plans for the construction of the largest biomass power station in the Netherlands out last year, after local politicians and many residents in Diemen protested. According to several parties, the licenses had been wrongly issued. There were fears of the effect on the environment and the living environment due to higher emissions of harmful substances, including nitrogen.

No waste incineration plant

According to the court, the biomass plant meets the requirements and the province has lawfully granted the permits. Unlike the parties who had filed a case, the court finds that the power station cannot be regarded as a waste incineration plant. The wood pellets used as fuel are not considered waste because they are clean wood that has not been chemically treated.

The court also established that there will be no higher emissions of harmful substances such as nitrogen and particulate matter than is permitted. According to the court, the political-administrative choice for biomass as a fuel is not relevant when assessing the granting of permits.

“It is good that there is now clarity about the permits,” the energy company said in a response to the ANP news agency. “That does not change what we have already indicated, namely that we will not take the final decision on whether the bio-heat installation will be built or not until the spring of 2022.” In the meantime, the company is thinking about alternatives. Environmental organizations do not want to wait for that decision and have announced that they will appeal.

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