In the case of the new development plan for Datteln 4, a court complains about considerable planning deficiencies. Was it just a matter of not endangering the Datteln location? There are also issues of species and landscape protection.
The North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Administrative Court sees considerable planning flaws in the legal dispute over the Datteln 4 hard coal power plant, which has been in operation since 2020.
The search for a suitable location and the examination of alternatives, including the type of power plant, were incomplete. “It was obviously about not endangering the Datteln location,” said the presiding judge Detlev Klein Altstedde at the beginning of the hearing on Thursday in Münster.
The OVG is expected to announce a decision on the newly drawn up development plan of the city of Datteln for the controversial power plant on Thursday. The plaintiffs are the neighboring town of Waltrop, the environmental protection organization BUND and four private individuals.
The higher regional court had declared the original development plan ineffective in 2009 because it was not in accordance with the state planning. The construction of the last hard coal-fired power plant in Germany was carried out around five kilometers away from the site actually intended.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
