The future of Poland’s ‘last coal plant’, Ostroleka C, hangs in the balance following a court ruling.

The District Court in Poznan held that the company resolution authorising construction of the €1.2 billion, 1 GW coal-fired power plant – a joint venture between two Polish energy companies, Enea and Energa – was legally invalid.

The ruling represents a major step in the shareholder lawsuit, the first of its kind, brought by ClientEarth. ClientEarth brought the legal case against Enea over the Ostroleka C project in October 2018, stating that it poses unjustifiable financial risk to shareholders.

The plant is exposed to the risks posed by the plummeting cost of renewables and rising carbon prices. Since late 2016, when the plans for the plant’s construction were resumed, EU carbon prices have soared fourfold from below €6 to nearly €30/t.

At Enea’s joint venture partner Energa’s latest general meeting on 25 June 2019, shareholders further interrogated the economic viability of the project.

While the case has been ongoing, key players in the Polish energy industry, including Tauron and PGE, have been looking into alternative and cheaper avenues of producing energy, such as wind power.