Energy supplier Vattenfall has confirmed they are finally canceling their plans to build a biomass power plant in Diemen. Instead, the company is investigating whether it can heat homes sustainably using other options, including geothermal energy and residual warmth. This is stated in a cooperation agreement by Vattenfall with several municipalities and the provinces of Noord-Holland and Flevoland.
Biomass power plants are often criticized by environmental organizations. Wood is one of the biological-based raw materials that are burned in the plants. This results in air pollution and can contribute to deforestation, critics argue. Vattenfall had plans to build a large biomass plant in Diemen which would have used wood pellets. But the Council of State ruled last year that the Province of Noord-Holland gave permission for this too easily.
Residual heat is the heat that is released, for example, by waste incineration plants or in the industrial sector. Via heating networks, it is transported to homes as a means of warming them. Geothermal energy is extracted by pumping up warm water sometimes hundreds of meters underground. Vattenfall is also focusing on the use of large electric boilers and converting a power station in Diemen to use hydrogen instead of natural gas.
Vattenfall said that they have received "active support" from the municipalities and provinces for the development of sustainable heat sources. At the same time, the company has said that there are still "important challenges" to make the alternatives of gas heating affordable for suppliers and customers.
