Hemweg Power Plant in Westpoort

In 2019, the Dutch government decided to close the coal-fired unit of the Hemweg power plant in response to a lawsuit filed by Urgenda, an environmental group based in Zaandam. The claimant maintained that the Dutch government was obligated to do more to mitigate climate change under an international agreement that the kingdom had signed years earlier. (Ultimately, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ruled in Urgenda’s favor.) That same year, the Hague enacted a ban on electricity production from coal, which will take effect in 2030. As of September 2026, the Netherlands still has three coal-fired power plants (Bloomberg Global Coal Countdown).

C.S.H.