Overview
- Comité Schone Lucht announced on Monday that it has taken the Dutch State to court to force independent checks on where wood used for biomass comes from and to prevent subsidy payments when origins are unverified.
- Recent reporting by Zembla and NRC raised doubts that pellets burned at RWE’s Amer and Eemshaven plants come from sawmill residues rather than whole trees in Malaysia, prompting further scrutiny of supply chains.
- The Landelijk Politieteam Milieucriminaliteit and the Dutch food and product safety authority (NVWA) have opened investigations into RWE’s pellet imports and administration, and the NVWA issued a provisional fine after RWE failed to prove legal sourcing.
- The current subsidy scheme, under which RWE could claim up to €2.5 billion and which runs until the end of the year, makes any court-ordered suspension or stricter verification financially significant for utilities and taxpayers.
- A court ruling requiring clearer chain-of-custody proof would force tighter supplier documentation, could reshape how the cabinet supports biomass, and may accelerate interest in alternatives such as BECCS that change subsidy rules and sourcing practices.