The 10th Senate of the German Higher Administrative Court has ruled that the Datteln-4 coal-fired plant was built on the basis of an invalid development plan. The North-Rhine-Westphalia region had drew up new plans and issued a permit for the project after a legal injunction stopping the construction in the mid 2000s; environmental groups and residents then fought this permit in courts. However, the ruling is not yet legally binding and Uniper has not intention to close the power plant.
In June 2020, Uniper commissioned its 1,055 MW Datteln-4 coal-fired power plant. The €1.5bn project was launched in 2006 and construction started in 2007 with the aim of starting operations in 2011. However, the project has been put on hold and restarted several times since then. Uniper was allowed to commission the project despite Germany's plans to exit coal-fired power generation by 2038.