London, 17 July (Argus) — Utilities are being asked to agree to the potential closure of 2.8GW of coal-fired capacity in the Netherlands in 2015-17.
The unit closures are a key element of a preliminary agreement — called the Energieakkoord — reached following extensive discussions between the government, non-governmental organisations, unions and industry body Energie-Nederland, which represents the operators of the coal-fired plants.
The coalition government initiated the discussions in autumn 2012 to reach a firm agreement on how the country can achieve its long-term energy plan, which centres on reducing CO2 emissions by 80-95pc by 2050, compared with 1990 levels.
Under the agreement, three coal-fired plants — French firm GDF Suez's 592MW Gelderland, German RWE's 645MW Amer 8, and Dutch firm EPZ's 408MW Borssele 12 — would close permanently before 31 December 2015. German utility Eon's Maasvlakte 1 (555MW) and 2 (555MW) could remain open longer — until July 2017 — as they have supply agreements with municipal heating companies.
In return for closing the units, the €14.03/t ($18.31/t) tax on coal-fired generation, introduced on 1 January 2013, would be scrapped from 1 January 2016.
Energie-Nederland is consulting with the operators of the five units on the terms of the agreement, while Dutch competition authority NMa is being consulted on whether the closures would be legal under national and European law.
The negotiators plan to finalise the agreement before 22 August. It will then be submitted to the Dutch parliament when it resumes the autumn session on 17 September, in time for inclusion in the next state budget. The preliminary agreement also introduces measures in favour of power generation using renewable sources, and includes a call for a firm legislative basis for a 2015 tender to subsidise 4.5GW of offshore wind projects planned to go on line by 2023.
The closure of the five coal-fired units would support gas-fired generation from 2016. New Dutch coal-fired plants totalling 3.4GW of capacity are scheduled to open in late 2013 and 2014, displacing gas-fired generation. But if the five coal-fired units close as suggested, the Netherlands' coal-fired availability would be just 500MW higher than the current level from mid-2017.
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