Almost all the heat in the Netherlands comes from fossil energy sources

Of all heat consumed in the Netherlands, 89 percent comes from natural gas and other fossil sources. This was reported by Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) on Tuesday after they analyzed the numbers provided by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Issues like higher energy costs and full power grids are resulting in a slower energy transition.

Sophie Hermans, the Minister for Climate Police and Green Growth, received the numbers about the transition from fossil to sustainable energy during the annual Energy breakfast. “We need to take on this large task together, and I want to use my role to contribute to that. My door is always open if something is needed,” Hermans said to hundreds of people from the climate and energy sector on Tuesday during the Energy breakfast.

She thinks that reducing the issues on the electricity grid is one of her biggest priorities. “We will not solve this today or tomorrow, but we need to do everything to reduce it.”

She also received a proposal from an alliance of more than a hundred municipalities, umbrella organizations, and heating communities to connect more households to a heating network on Tuesday.

This alliance thinks that the costs for consumers have to be reduced and that they should be able to have more confidence in heating networks. They feel subsidies should be made clearer, connection costs have to be reduced, and the cost structure must be made more transparent.

The Ministry of Climate Police and Green Growth is going to study the proposition, said Hermans. "The content forces us to look at it carefully. The solutions lie in more than just money, but also in subsidy schemes and a clear way of organizing."

EBN also looked at the origin of the natural gas. This showed that 38 percent comes from the Netherlands and that 27 percent of the natural gas consists of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.

The largest part (66 percent) of the emissions released during the extraction and transport of natural gas would come from the American LNG. CEO Jan Willem van Hoogstraten of EBN stated that focusing more on alternatives, such as heating networks, is the best way to import less LNG from the US.