European Court of Justice rules that UK power station violated emissions standards
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Aberthaw power station in Wales repeatedly breached pollution controls, releasing over double the acceptable levels of nitrogen oxide between 2008 and 2011. In response, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have called for the coal-burning plant to be permanently closed, claiming that pollution from Aberthaw caused 67 premature deaths each year. The UK has been ordered to pay the European Commission's legal costs.

A coal-burning power station in Wales repeatedly violated pollution controls for nitrogen oxide emissions, the European court of justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg has ruled.

It ordered the UK to pay the European commission’s legal costs after ruling that Aberthaw power station, near Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, should not have been allowed to exceed specially negotiated pollution limits.

The decision prompted calls from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth for the power station to be shut permanently on health grounds.



The government had argued that the plant, which opened in 1971, was continuing to make investments to bring down the amount of nitrogen oxide it put into the atmosphere.



The ECJ, however, ruled a higher emissions thresholdthe government had granted to Aberthawshould not have been allowed because of the quality of “low-volatile” opencast Welsh coal being burned.



Aberthaw was releasing more than double the quantity of nitrogen oxide than it should have been during the years 2008 and 2011, the Luxembourg court ruled.



It said: “The UK argues that the derogation was negotiated to include a plant such as Aberthaw and … that it is principally due to economic constraints that arrangements have not been made to improve the environmental performance of Aberthaw.

“The court notes that it is clear from its case law that the UK cannot validly invoke reasons of a purely economic nature to dispute the failure of which it is accused. For those reasons, the court considers that the UK has failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive and orders the UK to pay the commission’s costs.”

In a joint report, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth said Aberthaw belonged to a different era. “On average, pollution from Aberthaw is responsible for curtailing the lives of 67 people in Wales every year. This is equivalent to 64% of the death toll on Welsh roads, yet there is no special strategy for securing the accelerated final closure of the plant.

“The emissions from the power plant are estimated to be responsible for 195,000 days of illness per year, including 35,000 days of sick leave. On an average day, 530 people are ill due to the harmful health impacts of the pollution.

“The fact that its pollution has been causing respiratory sickness and prematurely ending the lives of thousands upon thousands of people in Wales and beyond for decades has eluded scrutiny.

“The Welsh and UK governments must do everything in their power to ensure that Aberthaw power station ceases operating. For good”.

Mike Childs, the head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, said: “This is a vindicating decision. The pollution from Aberthaw is unacceptable for the people near the power station in south Wales, but detrimental effects are felt as far away as Exeter, Bristol, Swindon and Bournemouth. We need a full and permanent closure, and today’s decision should help bring that about. It is the only sensible solution unless we are prepared to accept premature deaths and children’s ill health as a reasonable price to pay for corporate profit.”Rebecca Williams, the climate and energy specialist at WWF-UK said: “This judgment is yet another nail in the coffin for the UK’s dirty old coal-power stations. UK ministers have committed to phasing out coal, to improve public health, boost clean energy investment and tackle climate change. The new government should now publish the promised consultation on phasing out coal.”