The protestors were arrested but found not guilty of the charges of £30,000 in damage due to their lawful excuse of preventing future property damage caused by the power plant. Their acquittal earned a spot on the New York Times' annual list of the most influential ideas of the year. The protest and its subsequent trial generated a lot of public interest in the issues surrounding the coal industry.
The protest did not result in immediate closure of the power plant. Greenpeace held two more occupation protests, one in October 2008 and one in June 2009. The power plant was eventually shut down in December 2012 due to the enactment of the EU's Large Combustion Plant Directive.
However, a much greater outcome was achieved when six Greenpeace activists went to trial, admitted to attempting to shut the power plant down, but were found not guilty on the legal defense that they were preventing much greater property destruction caused by climate change. It was the first time in history that preventing climate change-caused property damage was deemed a lawful defense in court. This protest set a precedent that would inspire future environmental groups to take action without fearing legal consequences.