After accidentally suggesting that Groningen could be home to a nuclear power plant, outgoing (and probably incoming) Dutch PM Mark Rutte has reconsidered
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has reconsidered his statement that the province of Groningen could be a candidate for a new nuclear power plant. According to the outgoing (or incoming, his VVD party are predicted to win 40 seats or more) PM, he wrongly thought that there is support for the move in the province.
Rutte suggested the idea for a nuclear power plant in Eemshaven on Sunday during the RTL party leader debate, reports the GIC. His suggestion that Groningen could be home to the plant isn’t incredibly radical, as gas from under Groningen has been powering the Netherlands for over 40 years.
During a question hour on Radio 1, the party leader of the VVD admitted on Thursday morning that he made a wrong assessment when it comes to the intended location of a new power station.
“It didn’t go quite well there. Groningen is the province of the energy transition. Fortunately, natural gas will stop, but you can see what they are doing with hydrogen and there is a knowledge cluster available. I had in mind that there might be support there. It is now clear that there is no such thing. So there will be no nuclear power plant in Groningen”, said Rutte.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for an ex-teacher, Rutte did his homework before noting that Groningen is gunning to become the hydrogen capital of Europe.
Rutte’s nuclear statement during the debate caused tremors throughout Groningen. The province of Groningen and the municipality of Het Hogeland, among others, announced that a nuclear power plant in Eemshaven is not an option.
