The second development plan for the Datteln 4 hard coal power plant, which has been supplying electricity since 2020, is also ineffective.
The higher administrative court for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia overturned the plan of the city of Datteln on Thursday.
As a justification, the 10th Senate stated that the choice of the location did not comply with the legal requirements.
The verdict is not yet legally binding.
The OVG does not allow a revision.
An appeal against this decision is possible at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig (Ref .: 10 D 106/14, 10 D 40/15 and 10 D 43/15).
The plaintiffs were the neighboring town of Waltrop, the environmental protection organization BUND and four private individuals.
The higher regional court had declared the original development plan ineffective in 2009 because it was not in accordance with the state planning.
Uniper is examining legal remedies
The Datteln 4 power plant of the operator Uniper can still be operated.
The basis is a permit from 2017. It is the only coal-fired power plant in Germany that went online despite the agreement to phase out coal in 2020.
Legal proceedings against the approval are pending before the 8th Senate of the OVG.
The court will decide at a later date what consequences the ruling on the development plan has for the approval.
The energy company Uniper announced that it would examine further legal remedies. "We take note of the judgment of the OVG NRW, which is not yet legally binding, but expressly do not share the view of the court," the group said on Thursday. "We will therefore analyze the reasons for the judgment and examine the filing of legal remedies." It is clear, however, that the court did not decide today on the closure of Datteln 4, but on formal aspects of planning law.