Vattenfall cancels plans to build biomass power plant in Diemen

Energy supplier Vattenfall has confirmed they are finally canceling their plans to build a biomass power plant in Diemen. Instead, the company is investigating whether it can heat homes sustainably using other options, including geothermal energy and residual warmth. This is stated in a cooperation agreement by Vattenfall with several municipalities and the provinces of Noord-Holland and Flevoland.

Biomass power plants are often criticized by environmental organizations. Wood is one of the biological-based raw materials that are burned in the plants. This results in air pollution and can contribute to deforestation, critics argue. Vattenfall had plans to build a large biomass plant in Diemen which would have used wood pellets. But the Council of State ruled last year that the Province of Noord-Holland gave permission for this too easily.

Residual heat is the heat that is released, for example, by waste incineration plants or in the industrial sector. Via heating networks, it is transported to homes as a means of warming them. Geothermal energy is extracted by pumping up warm water sometimes hundreds of meters underground. Vattenfall is also focusing on the use of large electric boilers and converting a power station in Diemen to use hydrogen instead of natural gas.

Vattenfall said that they have received “active support” from the municipalities and provinces for the development of sustainable heat sources. At the same time, the company has said that there are still “important challenges” to make the alternatives of gas heating affordable for suppliers and customers.

The cooperation agreement does not include any agreements on financial support from municipalities or provinces towards Vattenfall. However, the energy company and the lower authorities are entering into discussions with the government on subsidies.

Vattenfall will supply residual heat from data centers and water purification plants with its heating network from Diemen for the equivalent of 140,000 homes. These are buildings in Almere, Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Ouder-Amstel and Diemen.

Chair Fenna Swart of the Clean Air Committee (CSL) called the decision "a great victory for nature, forests, and our air quality." She added that the committee will continue to fight against biomass. Swart predicts a significant increase in subsidized biomass use because the combination with CO2 capture and storage has been on the rise recently. CSL sees that as a "Trojan horse."