Lünen Power Station (Trianel)

Lunen Power Station (Trianel), West Rhine Westphalia is proposed by Trianel to have an installed capacity of 750 megawatts with a notional commissioning date of 2012. In April 2008 Power in Europe listed the project as having been approved. The newsletter also noted that the project had been oversubscribed with 24 municipal utilities wanting to buy 1045 megawatts. This led Trianel to investigate a second site at Krefeld (see above). A March 2008 media release stated that 'The general agreement now struck [between the utilities] will be translated into specific financing agreements by mid-year. The agreement is conditional on the sponsors obtaining all approvals and permits required for the construction and operation of the power plant." The release also stated that Trianel is aiming to start construction "in mid-2008 subject to the receipt of all requisite permits and the final go-ahead from all shareholders." The Royal Bank of Scotland has been appointed as financial advisor for the project. It was reported in March 2009 that Trianel had won court backing for continuing with construction of the plant.

Project halted
In December 2011, the Higher Administrative Court of Münster (OVG Münster) decided in favour of the environmental organization BUND (Friends of the Earth), annuling the preliminary decision and the first partial permit for the plant. The court held the door open for approving the plant, proved an extended Habitats Directive environmental impact assessment showed that the project would not violate the Habitats Directive.

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