In 2022, The Netherlands produced 20% more electricity from renewable sources than a year earlier. Energy production from fossil sources fell by 11%. Last year, 40% of total electricity production came from renewable sources, up from 33% in 2021. That is according to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) based on preliminary figures.
In 2022, as much energy was produced as a year earlier. Electricity production from renewable sources rose to 47 billion kWh, with 54% of that coming from solar and 17% from wind sources. That is largely due to increased capacity (solar +4 GW, wind +1 GW) and more favorable weather conditions. Electricity production from biomass and hydropower decreased.
Less power from natural gas
In 2022, in the Netherlands, 11% less energy was produced from fossil fuels: 67 billion kWh. Natural gas electricity production fell 16% to 47 billion kWh. The high natural gas prices are partly to blame for that.
At 16 million kWh, as much electricity was produced from coal last year as in 2021. The production cap at coal-fired power plants, which was lifted in June 2022, played a role in this.
More sourced from the UK, less from Germany and Norway
In 2022, the Netherlands imported 11% less - 19 billion kWh - of energy. That restored a net export balance, unlike a year earlier when that was low.
Less (-49%) was sourced from Norway, partly because that country produced less hydroelectricity. Imports from Germany also decreased (-23%). This time, thanks to reduced nuclear production. More wind production in the United Kingdom, however, led to increased imports from there.
Belgium and Germany received less power from France, partly due to long-term maintenance at French nuclear power plants. Those countries were, thus, forced to obtain some of their electricity elsewhere, also because they produce less from their own nuclear sources. That led to the Netherlands exporting more energy to Belgium and Germany.
Source: CBS