The highest court in the land has revoked the environmental licence for a coal-fired power plant in the Eemshaven that has already been half-built. New research will have to be done into the environmental effects of the plant, specifically on the German part of the Wadden, an ecologically sensitive area of sea, islands and mudflats

After years of legal wrangling, Essent will either stop building or continue with the construction in the hope that a new licence will be forthcoming.
According to Trouw, Economic Affairs minister Maxime Verhagen is confident that the added data will produce a new licence which will eventually enable Essent to go ahead. ‘The decision of the council of state merely shows how complicated the process of licensing is for such big projects’, he said.
In the Volkskrant, Greenpeace spokesman Rolf Schipper is equally confident: ‘It will never happen. The court’s decision was clear: the licensing of the plant was deeply flawed. No amount of tinkering can change that now.’
Essent’s decision could still go either way writes NRC. ‘Are Essent’s owners confident that a new licence will be granted? They might be: it can count on the support of the provinces of Friesland and Groningen. But the Byzantine rules surrounding the project may prove too much and they could decide to halt work on the project for good. In any case, the outcome of the court case is a victory for the environmentalists.’
De Pers quotes Jonathan Verschuuren, professor of international governance and environmental law specialist at the University of Tilburg who thinks it is ‘unlikely’ the plant will ever be finished. ‘We already know that the plant will have a detrimental effect on bird life. Then, according to environmental law, Essent will have to prove that there are no alternatives for the plant and that building it is in the national interest .The judges have been too busy sorting out the environmental damage to look into these aspects but they will definitely be part of any new procedure. There are alternatives and the Netherlands is already producing more electricity than it needs. Essent will have a hard time disproving that.’