There has been a dispute over the Datteln 4 hard coal power plant for many years. Now the highest German administrative court is dealing with possible errors in the choice of location.
The Federal Administrative Court is dealing with the legality of the development plan for the Datteln 4 hard coal power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia. The environmental association BUND, the city of Waltrop and several residents consider the plan to be ineffective and have filed lawsuits (ref.: BVerwG 4 CN 4.22 – 4 CN 6.22). The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig wants to announce its decision this Thursday (1 p.m.).
Quarrel for many years
There has been a dispute over the power plant for many years. A first development plan was declared ineffective in 2009 because it was not in line with state planning. The newly drawn up plan also did not hold up before the North Rhine-Westphalia Higher Administrative Court (OVG). The court in Münster ruled in 2021 that mistakes were made when choosing the location and declared the plan ineffective. The city of Datteln and the power plant operator Uniper have lodged appeals against this decision.
Mistake in choosing a location?
At the oral hearing in Leipzig, the city and Uniper requested that the Higher Administrative Court’s ruling be overturned and the lawsuits dismissed. From the perspective of their lawyers, the OVG overstepped its bounds in its ruling and placed impermissibly high demands on the planning. Among other things, the OVG criticized the fact that alternative locations had not been examined in advance at the regional planning level. The search area was incorrectly limited to the Emscher-Lippe region. In its consideration, the city of Datteln adopted the errors of regional planning.
Controversial large power plant
The Datteln 4 hard coal power plant has been supplying electricity since 2020. Its commissioning was accompanied by protests. On Wednesday, activists from Fridays for Future held a small vigil in front of the Federal Administrative Court and demanded that the “black building” be demolished. Around a third of the electricity generated in Datteln is supplied to Deutsche Bahn, the rest comes onto the electricity market. The power plant also supplies the city of Datteln with district heating.
Continued operation even if the B plan is ineffective?
If the Federal Administrative Court also considers the development plan to be ineffective, this would initially have no direct impact on operations. This is based on a so-called emission control approval from 2017. The plaintiffs are also taking action against this. The proceedings are pending at the OVG Münster, but are currently suspended, as a spokeswoman said. Before a decision on the operating license is made, the verdict on the effectiveness of the development plan should be awaited.
Source: Stern
