Renewable Energy in The Netherlands
July 2016
Dr. Martien Visser
Professor Energy Transition & Network Integration
Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen
Partner of the Energy Academy Europe
E-mail: b.m.visser@pl.hanze.nl
This analyses contains information of various sources and own analyses, including various estimates.
Readers are encouraged to add, to improve the quality of the information provided.
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The Entrance database on Renewable Energy is regularly improved by the creation
and/or refinement of (sub)models
Recent improvements
May 2016: The national statistical authority (CBS) has presented an estimate about
the production of renewable energy in The Netherlands in 2015. Its estimate of
118 PJ was close to the estimate of this database of 117 PJ. On the other hand, the
estimate of CBS of the Dutch gross final energy consumption is slightly lower than
calculated using this database.
Consequently, there is a small difference in the estimated Dutch renewable
percentage in 2015 between CBS (5.8%) and this database (5.6%). The real (official)
percentage will be calculated by Eurostat to be published early 2017.
June 2016: a graph has added (sheet 5) presenting the long term trend of the
quarterly percentage of renewable energy in The Netherlands
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July 2016
In a Nutshell
 The percentage renewable power was 10.7%, down from 12.9% last year.
 The fraction renewable energy in July was 6.0%, down from 6.2% last year.
 Electricity production by wind was 21% lower y-o-y and reached 0.48 TWh.
 Electricity production by solar-PV was 12% higher y-o-y and reached 0.18 TWh
 Average utilization of wind capacity was 18% and of solar-PV, it was 15%
 CO2 emissions from energy usage were 11.9 Mton, 2% less than last year
 The fraction renewable energy in Q2 2016 has been assessed at 6.0%
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Fraction Renewable
Energy
Q2 2016
The fraction renewable energy has been calculated using the official EU
regulations. In Q2 2016, the Netherlands produced 6.0% of its final energy
consumption in the form of renewables. Dutch energy policy is focused to
reach 14% renewable energy in 2020.
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Content
• July 2016 data
• Monthly profiles
• Monthly data
• Hourly data
• Miscellaneous
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SELECTED ENERGY DATA FROM JULY 2016
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Renewable Energy
July 2016
Renewable Energy is produced in various forms. The most important
contributor is biomass. In July 2016, according to the official rules, 6.0% of all
energy consumed in the Netherlands was renewable energy.
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Final Energy Demand
July 2016
Energy is used for many different purposes. In July 2016, the most important
energy applications were gas (industry and heating) and oil (transport). In the
calculation of the percentage of renewable energy, energy usage in the
energy sector, for shipping and for feedstock are omitted.
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Final Energy Demand
July 2016 (vs 2015)
Energy usage in 2016 is similar to July 2015
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CO2 Emissions
July 2016
In July, the national energy-related CO2 emissions, calculated using the official
formula, are estimated at 11.9 Mton, down from 12.1 Mton in July 2015.
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Power Generation
Capacity July 2016
The capacity (beginning of July) is the so-called name-plate capacity. In practice,
not all capacity is available for the market due to planned and unplanned
maintenance and mothballing.
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Power Supplies
July 2016
In July 2016, power consumption was 9.6 TWh, 5% higher than last year.
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CO2 from Power
Generation
July 2016
In July 2016, 70% of the CO2 emissions from the power sector came from the coal-fired
power stations. The CO2 emissions from imports are given for comparison, since these do
not contribute to the national CO2 emissions.
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SELECTED MONTHLY PROFILES
(using daily data)
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Daily Renewable
Energy July 2016
Various contributions of renewable energy per day, classification according to CBS. In
July, the average Dutch gross final energy consumption was 1220 GWh per day.
One GWh is one million kWh or about 100.000 m3 of natural gas.
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Energy Demand
July 2016
Energy demand shows a typical weekday-weekend pattern. Gas demand is
partly dependent on ambient temperature.
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Conventional Power
Production
July 2016
July 2016 is characterized by high volatility in wind and solar production and imports, and
hence, fossil fuel generation, including coal-fired generation, varied significantly.
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Wind and Solar
Power Production
July 2016
July 2016 was characterized by low availability of wind and relative high solar production.
The average utilization rate of the wind turbines was just 18% and for solar-PV it was 15%.
1 GWh is sufficient to provide power for a year for 300 households.
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Contribution of
Renewable Energy
July 2016
In July, the percentage of renewable power varied between 6% and 22%, with an
average of 10.7%. The every percentage of renewable energy was 6.0%. These
percentages have been estimated using the official EU procedures.
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SELECTED MONTHLY ENERGY DATA
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Gross Final Energy
Consumption
2016 (and 2015)
The gross final consumption of energy is a quantity used to calculate the percentage of
renewable energy. This quantity excludes the energy used in the energy sector (mainly
due to the production of electricity), for international shipping and for feedstock and
the energy used for international aviation above 6.18% of the total
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Gas Demand
(excluding gas-to-power)
2016 (and 2015)
Gas consumption in July, excluding gas-to-power, was similar to last year.
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Gas Production
2016 (and 2015)
Dutch natural gas production in July was lower than last year. As far known,
it was at the lowest level since the development of the Groningen gas field.
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Power Demand
2016 (and 2015)
In July Dutch power demand was 5% higher than last year.
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Wind Production
2016 (and 2015)
Wind production in July 2016 was 0.48 TWh, lower than last year. In July 2016, the
average utilization of wind capacity, combined onshore and offshore, was 18%.
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Solar PV Production
2016 (and 2015)
In July 2016, electricity generation by Solar PV in The Netherlands reached 0.18 TWh.
This was higher than last year, because of the increase in solar-PV capacity and more
sunshine. In July, the average utilization rate of solar-PV capacity was 15%.
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Coal-to-Power
2016 (and 2015)
In July, coal-fired power generation has been estimated to be lower than last year.
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Gas to Power
2016 (and 2015)
In July, gas-fired power has been estimated to be similar to July 2015.
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LNG imports
2016 (and 2015)
This figure depicts the amount of LNG injected into the gas grid, as presented by GTS.
The figure excludes the usage of LNG as transport fuel.
1 TWh is equal to about 100 million m3.
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Renewable Energy
All Sources
2016 (and 2015)
This is an assessment based on a variety of assumptions. After four months of
increases, in recent months, renewable energy consumption was slightly
lower than in 2015.
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Renewable Energy
Percentage
2016 (and 2015)
In July, the percentage of renewable energy was 6.0%, slightly lower than last year.
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CO2 Emissions
2016 (and 2015)
After a significant rise of the CO2 emissions in 2015, compared to 2014, the CO2 emissions
in 2016 have been similar to 2015.
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ENERGY DEMAND IN A NUTSHELL
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Energy Demand
July 2016
Dutch government has allocated Energy Demand in four categories. These categories (and this figure)
do not take into account energy demand for international shipping, aviation and feedstock.
During summer, energy demand for low temperature heat is very low.
(1 GWh is about equal to the average daily energy production of 40 wind turbines of 3 MW each)
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Energy Demand
Low Temperature Heat
The primary energy requirement for Low Temperature heat, mainly buildings and green houses,
varies with ambient temperature.
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Energy Demand
High Temperature Heat
The primary energy requirement for High Temperature Heat (mainly industry) varies with
the economic activities in the Netherlands.
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Energy Demand
Transportation
The primary energy requirement for Transportation (excluding international shipping and
aviation) varies with the economic activity in the Netherlands. Fuels bought abroad, e.g.
since taxes are lower abroad, are not included in this figure.
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Energy Demand
Power Sector
The primary energy requirement for the power sector varies, with the import/export
balance and with the production of renewable power. This figure excludes the primary
energy demand caused by power imports.
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CO2 Emissions
July 2016
This figure shows the daily CO2 emission of each of the four demand sectors.
This figure does not take into account the energy demand for shipping, aviation and feedstock. During
summer, CO2 emissions from lower temperature heat are very low.
(1 kton CO2 is equal to the average daily CO2 emission of 90.000 households, each using 1500 m3 gas
and 3500 kWh electricity annually .
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CO2 emissions
Low Temperature Heat
The CO2 emissions from Low Temperature Heat , mainly buildings and green houses, vary
with ambient air temperature and the fraction of renewable energy which is used, mainly
biomass and heat pumps. This figure excludes the CO2 emissions due to the production of
electricity used in low temperature heating.
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CO2 emissions
High Temperature Heat
CO2 emissions from High Temperature Heat, mainly industry, vary mainly with the
economic activity in the Netherlands.
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CO2 emissions
Transportation
CO2 emissions from Transportation (excluding international shipping and aviation, which
are not accounted for in the national CO2 emissions) vary with the economic activity in
the Netherlands. Fuel bought abroad, e.g. because of lower prices, is not included in this
figure as well.
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CO2 emissions
Power Sector
CO2 emissions from the power sector vary with the amount of coal used for power
generation, the amount of renewable power produced, and the level of power imports.
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SELECTED HOURLY ENERGY DATA
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Gas Supplies
July 2016
The send-out of the gas storages is mainly related to ambient temperatures, but
shows as well a week-weekend pattern. In July the storages were being filled, which is
represented by negative values. Gas supplies include Dutch consumption and exports.
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Gas Demand
Including Gas-to-Power
July 2016
Domestic gas demand in July peaked at 35 GW. In this graph, the term “industry”
is defined as direct connections to the Gasunie grid. The term distribution includes
industries and households connected to the distribution grids.
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Gas Imports & Exports
July 2016
In July 2016, gas exports were about 23 TWh, while gas imports were 35
TWh and net gas imports to the Netherlands have been at a record level.
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Power Imports &
Exports
July 2016
In July 2016 power imports were 2.2TWh, while power exports were
(just) 0.2 TWh.
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Wind Power
July 2016
July 2016 was characterized by a low and volatile wind availability; the average
utilization rate of the wind turbines was 18%.
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Solar PV Power
July 2016
July was less sunny than May. The utilization rate of more than 1500 MW of
solar PV installed was 16%.
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The following set of slides presents for each month
in 2016 the hourly contributions of various energy
sources to total power consumption in The
Netherlands.
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Power Generation
January 2016
In the week of 19-23 July, gas-fired power generation peaked, due to low wind
availability and net exports that occurred simultaneously.
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Power Generation
February 2016
In the second half of July, gas-fired power generation peaked, due to low wind
availability and low imports.
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Power Generation
March 2016
Around Eastern, the demand for power was relatively low and there was a high
availability of wind, both domestic and imported. Hence, significant domestic gas and
coal-fired power production had to be taken out.
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Power Generation
April 2016
April 2016 was characterized by high imports and a volatile wind availability. Hence,
fossil fuel generation varied significantly during the month.
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Power Generation
May 2016
May 2016 was characterized by high imports and a volatile wind availability. Hence,
fossil fuel generation varied significantly during the month.
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Power Generation
June 2016
June 2016 was characterized by high power imports, outages of the nuclear and coalfired power plants and low wind availability.
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Power Generation
July 2016
July 2016 was characterized by high power imports and low wind availability.
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The following set of slides presents for each week in
2016 the hourly contributions of wind and solar-PV
to the total power consumption in The Netherlands.
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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Hourly Solar-PV and
Wind Generation 2016
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MISCELLANEOUS
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Effective Temperature
July 2016
In July 2016, the average daily effective temperature (temperature including wind shield
factor) was only 12.7 oC, significantly higher than in July 2015 (average 14.5 oC).
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Import/export
balances of gas and
power
This curve represents the long term monthly net import/export balances of natural gas
and power since January 2014. Negative numbers express net exports. Positive numbers
net imports. Since 2015, the Groningen gas production has decreased significantly.
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Fuel Specific CO2
Emissions
g/kWh
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
798
450
279
204
Fuels
Sources: CE-Delft, own analyses
341
396
298
Power Generation
Characteristic CO2 emissions used in this presentation.
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Epilogue
b.m.visser@pl.hanze.nl
This presentation is based on numerous sources on energy demand, supply and
production in The Netherlands. Unfortunately, these sources do not cover the
entire Dutch energy system, nor do these sources provide the insights needed
for this presentation. Thus, various approximations and scaling factors were
derived and used. The author would like to thank students from Hanze
University of Applied Sciences in Groningen and various consulted energy
experts for there feedback on the methods used. Currently, the aggregated
results of this work are in good agreement with data supplied by the Dutch
National Office of Statistics (CBS) and it is believed that the this presentation
gives a fair presentation of the complex reality of the Dutch energy system.
Nevertheless, the author invites readers to comment on the data provided to
further improve this work. After all, good and reliable data are at the heart of
any successful policy to make our world more sustainable.
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