Renewable energy production grew by 11% in 2024 in the Netherlands

Driven by photovoltaic solar and wind energy, Dutch renewable power generation increased by 11% in 2024, as green energy was behind 54% of the total power production.

Renewable energy production grew by 11% in 2024, according to new figures released by Energieopwek. In the past year, there were more green electricity surpluses which resulted in an increasing number of hours with negative prices. If adequate energy storage would have been in place, 250 million m³ of gas would have been saved and the renewables’ growth would have been by 13%.

The soar in renewable energy production is mainly driven by wind and solar power, which grew respectively by 14 and 15%. As the Hollandse Kust Noord and Zuid offshore farms operated for the whole year, wind power generation grew, while solar panel installations also kept growing.

More and more green energy surpluses

In 2024, windmills and solar panels were shut off more often. This happens when the total production of solar and wind threatens to exceed the national demand for electricity plus export. The result is that the electricity price becomes zero or even negative. For producers, it is then loss-making to leave their installations on. Sometimes, they could not get rid of their electricity because the electricity grid was full.

Energy expertise center EnTranCe simulated running a virtual electrolyzer for hydrogen production during the moments with surpluses. The device would have run for over 1500 hours, roughly 17% of the year.

Given these shutdowns, over 3 TWh of energy have been lost in 2024, three times more than the previous year. With that amount, 60 million kilograms of hydrogen could have been produced. That could have replaced almost 250 million cubic meters of natural gas.

© Energieopwek.nl/Entrance

Heat pumps and biomass are also on the rise

Solar and wind energy are behind two-thirds of the total growth of green energy. Heat pump generation also rose, accounting for 25% of the increase. Energieopwek notes how heat pumps generated almost 30 Petajoules, around 1.5% of the total final energy demand.

While less biomass was burnt in the coal-fired power stations overall, these plants operated at full capacity in autumn when there was less wind. However, the use of biofuels pushed total biomass usage by 9%.

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Green energy share over the 50% mark

The share of green energy grew to 54%. It is the first time that green energy production has exceeded the 50% mark on an annual basis. It could have reached 56.5% if the panels and windmills had not been switched off but had been able to store their energy to supply it to the grid later. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) assumes that 75% of Dutch electricity will be generated sustainably by 2030.

In eight of the twelve months, the production of green energy surpassed 50%. April was the peak month, with a share of over 68%. November was the low point, with a share of 38%. This windless and gray November was also the only period in which renewable energy production decreased slightly compared to the same month last year.

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