Environment

Court halts expansion of largest coal mine in Romania following Bankwatch appeal

Photo: Rosia ligite coal mine (Complexul Energetic Oltenia)

Published

October 25, 2019

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

October 25, 2019

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

A Bucharest court has blocked an expansion of Rosia, the largest coal mine in Romania located in Gorj county, following a legal challenge to the mine’s environmental permit lodged by Bankwatch Romania.

Romania is among seven EU countries that have not declared when they will stop using coal.

In 2016, Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CEO), the largest energy company in Romania, sought to expand the existing 1,457-hectare lignite coal mine at Rosia by a further 280 hectares, 235 out of them covered by forests which would have to be cut off, Bankwatch said in a press release.

Bankwatch argued that the environmental permit for the expansion was granted without the consultation of the most affected locals

In its court case from 2017, Bankwatch argued that the environmental permit for the expansion was granted without the consultation of the most affected locals and that the cumulative environmental impact of the eight mines in the area had not been assessed. Moreover, the expanded mine would be located only 10 kilometers away from a Natura 2000 site (Coridorul Jiului), which made it likely that endangered species would be negatively impacted by the exploitation.

Underground water on a radius of 30 kilometers around the mine would be polluted too

Underground water on a radius of 30 kilometers around the mine would be polluted too, argued Bankwatch, in an area where people are already suffering from water contamination resulting from previous coal mining activities.

“It’s high time for Romania to develop a realistic strategy to ensure that polluting and expensive sources of energy, such as coal, are replaced with sustainable ones while at the same time making sure that employment is safeguarded in mining areas,” says Alexandru Mustata, Bankwatch campaigner in Romania.

Romania is one of only seven EU countries left which have not set a coal phaseout date

She said that Romania is one of only seven EU countries left which have not set a coal phaseout date, but that it won’t be able to postpone this decision much longer.

A few days ago four Romanian mayors signed a declaration supporting a just transition to the post-coal era together with colleagues from eight European countries.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

Open call for green hydrogen combined heat and power pilot project in Western Macedonia

Open call for green hydrogen high-efficiency CHP pilot plant in northern Greece

04 July 2025 - The Greek government has opened a call for a pilot CHP unit in Western Macedonia that would run on green hydrogen

Foreign renewable energy investors remain committed to Romania as large plants coming online

Foreign renewable energy investors remain committed to Romania as large plants coming online

04 July 2025 - Renewable energy companies from abroad aren't intimidated by negative power prices in Romania, especially with the BESS segment accelerating

projects euros modernisation fund celan energy

EU’s Modernisation Fund disburses EUR 3.66 billion for clean energy projects in nine countries

04 July 2025 - Focusing on renewables, grids, storage, and energy efficiency, the funds will support projects in Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, and Romania.

sostanj coal fired plant unit 6

Slovenia’s sole coal-fired power plant Šoštanj to keep main unit offline until fall

04 July 2025 - The 600 MW unit at Šoštanj will not be restarted until the end of September, when demand for heat is set to rise.