NL to compensate RWE 331.8 mil for reducing coal plant operations in Eemshaven

The Dutch government plans to pay the German energy company RWE 331.8 million euros in compensation because the operator had to reduce operations at its coal-fired power station in Eemshaven in the province of Groningen. "It's a substantial amount," admitted Energy Minister Rob Jetten, as according to European rules, the Dutch state must pay this amount.

The Cabinet required coal-fired power plants to limit their electricity production to comply with the climate targets set out in the Urgenda ruling. In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the Netherlands’ greenhouse gas emissions must be at least 25 percent lower than in 1990 every year.

The reason for the high compensation amount for RWE is the "high prices that are being used in the calculation" of the compensation. The total amount that the government intends to pay consists of 318.3 million euros in compensation and 13.5 million euros in interest reimbursement. Jetten emphasized that reducing the production also led to decreased CO2 emissions.

RWE requested more money, the minister said. The company can still object or appeal against the Cabinet’s decision. Other operators Uniper and Onyx also demanded compensation for the imposed production reduction. Together, the three companies have requested a total of 1.9 billion euros.

Jetten said he believes 730 million euros should be enough to compensate all the companies for their losses. This is partly because, for a time, coal-fired power plants were allowed to increase production when a significant gas shortage loomed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A decision on the compensation claims from Uniper and Onyx is still pending, Jetten reported to the Parliament.

As of 2030, there will be a ban on coal-fired power plants. But there is no financial compensation in return, a court ruled earlier.