Renewable energy in the Netherlands

Despite the historic usage of wind power to drain water and grind grain, the Netherlands today lags 21 of the 26 other member states of the European Union in the consumption of energy from renewable sources.

[1] According to statistics published by Eurostat, it was the last among the EU countries in the shift away from global warming-inducing energy sources.

In 2018 decisions were made to replace natural gas as the main energy source in the Netherlands with increased electrification being a major part of this process.

In 2022, Dutch wind turbines had a total nameplate capacity of 8,831 MW,[5] accounting for 4,20% of final energy consumption.

As of 2022, a number of large offshore windfarms have either come online (Gemini wind farm) are planned or have been granted authorisation (145,628 GWh).

[6][circular reference] Most of the tiny contribution made to electricity generation by hydroelectricity came from three power plants.

In 2022 plug-in electric vehicles in the Netherlands represented 10,7% of cars owned,[9] making it the world's second highest share after Norway.

According to projections by the Dutch submission in 2020 the gross final energy consumption in the Netherlands by sector breaks down as follows: *After adjustments.

Using the unadjusted NREAP data approximately half of energy consumption (52.8%) is used in the heating and cooling sector.

Total annual energy consumption before adjustments for aviation is projected to be 52,088 ktoe (52.million tonnes of oil equivalent) by 2020.

[17] Current Dutch government policy is, through the use of renewable sources and nuclear power, aiming for zero-emission electricity generation by 2035.

With this, offshore wind energy makes an important contribution to achieving the increased climate target of 55% less CO2-emissions.

− In 2010, 740,000 dairy cows (about half of the country's total) provided 277 TJ of heat energy avoiding 18,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

[27] In 2008 Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende claimed that the Netherlands annually uses €1–1.5 billion (0.3% of national income) to protect against the risks of the sea level rise.