The European Commission ruled that the €52.5 million compensation granted to Vattenfall AB for the early closure of its Hemweg 8 coal-fired power plant in the Netherlands was in line with EU State aid rules.

"Our assessment concluded that the Dutch compensation measure to the coal-fired power plant Hemweg due to its early closure, does not unduly distort the competition in the EU's Single Market," the commission said in a May 12 news release.

In December 2019, the Netherlands established a law banning coal-fired power generation by Jan. 1, 2030. As the Hemweg facility closed before Jan. 1, the project was eligible to claim payment for its early closure.

Hemweg 8 was inaugurated in 1994 and had an installed capacity of 650 MW. The dismantling of Hemweg 8 will start in 2020 and the site will be converted into a fossil-free hub for electricity and heat, both in production, as well as in transit and temporary storage of energy.