Dutch cabinet to close two more coal plants

The Dutch government is considering closing another two coal fired power plants in the Netherlands, on top of the already agreed upon closure of the five oldest coal plants in the country. The final decision on this will be made in the autumn, ANP reports.

The two coal plants to be added to the closure list are Amer power plant 9 in Geertruidenberg and Hemweg 8 near Amsterdam. If these two plants close, the Netherlands will have three coal fired power plants still in operation.

Minister Henk Kamp of Economic Affairs and State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment hope that the closure of these two plants will further reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide, according to a letter they sent to Parliament on Saturday. In the coming period they will investigate the exact reduction of emissions, what effect the closure will have on the electricity supply and what it will cost the State.

With this Kamp and Dijksma are responding to the climate agreement made in Paris last year, the majority vote in Parliament to systematically close all coal plants in the country and the court ruling in the Urgenda case that the Netherlands should do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.