Have two nature organizations, the Dutch Committee on Schone Air and the British Biofuelwatch, a formal request submitted to the Dutch Emission Authority (NEA) to take action against possible illegal wood import by energy company RWE.
According to the organizations, RWE, which exploits various power plants in the Netherlands, imported wood pellets (for combustion in the power stations) from Malaysia in 2024 that do not meet the legal sustainability requirements.
The two organizations announced this on Thursday. They call on the independent supervisor to take “immediately” against the alleged abuses. The NEA supervises compliance with the sustainability requirements.
RWE is an important electricity producer in the Netherlands. The company operates several power plants, including the Amer and Eemshaven power plant. In both power stations, RWE uses biomass as an important fuel. Biomass is often used as a replacement for coal.
Satellite images
In the context of the transition to a cleaner energy supply, the Dutch legislator has prohibited the consumption of coal in power plants, from 2030 at the latest. RWE receives subsidies that have to stimulate the consumption of biomass. Until 2027, according to the two nature organizations, this will be an amount of 2.5 billion euros.
However, there are conditions attached to this, which should ensure that the biomass is also sustainable. In the case of wood pellets, for example, that no rainforest or other protected and natural forests have been cut down, or vulnerable peat areas have been drained. Opponents of biomass often point to these problematic sides of systematic forest hood for power production.
The two nature organizations say they have found ‘new evidence’ on the basis of their own research that this kind of controversial practices nevertheless take place around the import of wood pellets that RWE uses. According to the Clean Air and Biofuelwatch Committee, there have been several ‘violations’ of the sustainability rules at two suspected suppliers of the energy company in Malaysia. They base this on satellite images, among other things, that deforesting rainforest and dewatering to show.
‘Destruction of rainforest’
According to the organizations, it is also remarkable that these suppliers have been officially approved by certification bodies, where the Dutch government is again leaning in assessing the wood pellets on sustainability criteria – and therefore for the final grant of subsidies. According to the Clean Air and Biofuelwatch Committee, their findings therefore raise questions about the “validity and legitimacy” of the Dutch certification process in general.
The company does not announce exactly where RWE gets his wood pellets from. However, the Clean Air and Biofuelwatch committee concludes that RWE Houtpellets must have taken from Malaysia, because RWE is good for the entire import of wood pellets to the Netherlands on its own. This included figures from the European statistics agency Eurostat in 2024 also almost 200,000 tons of Malaysian wood pellets.
Subsequently, the two organizations conclude that RWE must also have purchased from the suppliers in question, because these are the only two Malaysian wood pellet companies that have the certificates that RWE needs to obtain the subsidies.
Fenna Swart, director CSL says in a response: “With this proof, the suspicions that have been existing for a long time are confirmed. It shows that Malaysian wood pellets used for the Dutch market are linked to the destruction of rainforest and, in some cases, to the dewatering of Veen. This is both in violation of the Dutch Sustainability criteria on the basis of the billions of billion.” ””
Sustainability controls
In a written response, RWE announced that it will not recognize itself in the text of the enforcement request. “RWE takes the applicable rules regarding the sustainability of biomass very seriously. We have had in recent years based on the applicable conditions […] Always be able to prove that the biomass imported by us meets this. This is also checked by an independent, recognized and accredited certificationer. ”
According to the energy company, the enforcement request „that the petitioners do not know the applicable rules regarding the demonstration of the sustainability of biomass. Different rules apply to different categories of biomass. They are confused in the enforcement request. For example, RWE imported only Pellets from the forests and no biomassa in 2024 and no biomassa with a wood -processing industry and no biomassa. We have no trading relationship at all enforcement requests ”.
In a written response, the NEA announced that the role of the supervisor is when testing compliance with the sustainability requirements to ensure that the certification authorities also perform the sustainability controls well. The supervisor says that he does ‘risk -oriented’, which means that ‘she focuses on the greatest risks in the market and/or can act on formal and informal signals’.
Withdrawal of subsidies
The NEA cannot therefore act against RWE in the event of any violations. But, according to the statement: “Although we do not have a direct role as enforcer here, the signal is a reason for us to speak of a risk that leads to a supervision action.”
That action then focuses on the Malaysian certificationer who has assessed shipment as biomass, according to the NEA, and consists of gathering information from, for example, the certification institutions, the holders of the certificates and supervisors abroad.
If violations have actually taken place, it is ultimately up to the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth to take enforcement measures, for example the withdrawal of subsidies.