Poland may need to shut down a coal-fired power plant supplying 7% of the country’s electricity after the European Court of Justice sided with the Czech Republic’s environmental suit against its northern neighbour.
The tribunal ordered Poland’s biggest utility PGE to halt lignite extraction from the Turow mine in the south-west of Poland until the final ruling in the case is issued. PGE had warned that could mean closing a nearby power plant that supplies power to about three-million households.
Last month, the State-controlled utility also warned that a negative ruling could be a threat to Poland’s power system. On Friday, PGE said on Twitter the decision is a “path to a wild energy transformation.”
The Czechs argue that the mine, based near the border with Poland, has a negative impact on local water. They say its permit for operations infringes European Union law.
“It appears sufficiently likely that the continuation of lignite mining activities at the Turow mine before the final judgment is delivered is likely to have negative effects on the level of groundwater in Czech territory,” the ECJ said in a statement on Friday.
PGE shares reversed gains to plunge as much as 6.5% in Warsaw. The Climate Ministry didn’t have an immediate comment when reached by phone by Bloomberg News.