German research agency Frontier Economics, as well as the final advice of the individual members of the advisory group with whom the minister had been constantly consulted on this matter. These include VNO-NCW, FNV, environmental organisations and the VEMW. They did not agree on a common position and hence the difficult issue of the coal-fired power stations would be passed over the elections, which took place 15 March 2017. 2018 ban on coal-fired power plants On 18 May 2018, Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Eric Wiebes announced that the Netherlands would ban the use of coal in electricity generation by the end of 2029. Two of the five remaining coal-fired plants (Amercentrale Unit 9 & Hemweg 8) would have to shut down at the end of 2024 unless they switch primary fuels. See also Energy in the Netherlands Renewable energy in the Netherlands References External links Report on the Dutch power system (PDF 1.64 MB), September 2014 Green energy suppliers report October 2017 https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/0ac723e3-b89e-4bd6-b262-ee862493371a/NL-2020-Launch-Presentation.pdf