Half of the electricity used in 2023 came from renewable sources

Half of the electricity used in the Netherlands last year came from renewable sources. Most came from biomass and wind energy, but the amount of solar energy is also rising, claims Energieopwek. People have been using less electricity this year. The demand for electricity dropped by five percent.

Energieopwek was started to follow the growth of sustainable energy. The platform shows that the windmills at sea keep getting more important. The windmills were at their most productive on December 24.

The Netherlands is fifth in Europe regarding the most solar panels. "Per capita, the Netherlands is even the leader," says Energieopwek. "Nobody expected that at the start of the energy agreements." The production of solar energy peaked on June 13. Enough power was generated for 40 percent of the electricity in the Netherlands on that day. Its lowest point was on the December 19..

Sometimes, more sustainable electricity was generated than was needed or could be exported. For example, there have already been 308 hours with negative prices this year, where users were given money if they used electricity at that time. It is expected that some more hours will be added this weekend.

The share of biomass was around the same as years prior. Energieopwek reported earlier this year in May that, for the first time, more power was generated through solar panels than through biomass. Opinions vary widely about the degree of sustainability of biomass. Due to the disadvantages, the government has decided to no longer provide new subsidies for burning biomass to generate electricity.

There will be 13 percent more renewable energy produced in 2023 than last year. This concerns power for electricity, transport, and heat in buildings and industry, for example. In total, the share of renewable energy is nearly 17 percent, and with that, the goal from the Energy agreements has been reached, said Energieopwek.