A request towards the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy to shut down lignite power plant Amyndeo was submitted today by the Green Tank and ClientEarth, an organization of environmental lawyers.
This lignite plant exhausted its 17,500 hours of operation which were allowed based on the exception of Article 33 of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75 / EU), to which it had been subject since 2016. It should, therefore, be closed.
As the European Commission has repeatedly explained to the Greek Government, the plant does not meet the eligibility requirements of paragraph 4 of the same article, which allows the extension of its operating hours to 32,000 hours during the period 2016-2023. Nonetheless, it continues to operate.
The closure of Amyndeo is a matter of respecting European environmental law, which cannot be interpreted á la carte.
At the same time, it is also a matter of protecting public health and the environment. The Amyndeo power plant, with a total gross nominal capacity of 600 MW, is one of the most polluting in the EU, with respect to sulfur dioxide (SO2), emitting an average of 736% above the new European emission limits of the new LCP BREF, as the following table shows.
Table
SO2 emissions from units Amyndeo Ι-ΙΙ (average for the concentrations) and comparison with the Emission Limit Values of the IED (2010/75/ΕΕ) and the new LCP BREF.| Year | Emitted quantity (ktn) | Emitted concentration (mg/Nm3) | Limit of 2010/75/ΕU (mg/Nm3) | % excess of 2010/75/ΕU ELV | Limit of LCP BREF (mg/Nm3) | % excess of LCP BREF ELV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 20,0 | 1.144,0 | 200 | 472,00% | 130 | 780,00% |
| 2013 | 8,6 | 575,0 | 200 | 187,50% | 130 | 342,31% |
| 2014 | 17,4 | 1.255,0 | 200 | 527,50% | 130 | 865,38% |
| 2015 | 15,3 | 1.325,5 | 200 | 562,75% | 130 | 919,62% |
| 2016 | 9,9 | 1.133,5 | 200 | 466,75% | 130 | 771,92% |
| Average | 14,2 | 1.086,6 | 200 | 443,30% | 130 | 735,85% |
