Renewables hit nearly 20% of Dutch energy use in 2024, led by offshore wind, biodiesel

In 2024, renewable energy made up 19.8 percent of the Netherlands’ total energy consumption, up from 17.4 percent in 2023. This rise reportedly stems mainly from new offshore wind turbines and increased biodiesel use in transport. The share of renewables has more than doubled compared to five years ago, according to preliminary data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

The overall consumption of renewable energy—including wind, solar, and energy from plant and animal residues—reached 358 petajoules (PJ) in 2024. A petajoule is a standard unit used to measure large-scale energy consumption. This marked a 15 percent increase from 2023. Biomass remained the largest renewable source at 121 PJ, followed by wind at 116 PJ and solar at 78 PJ. Total energy consumption across all sources rose slightly to 1,807 PJ, a 1 percent increase over the previous year.

Renewables were mostly consumed as electricity (60 percent), with heat and cooling accounting for 28 percent, and transport fuels 12 percent. Overall, including fossil fuels, about half of energy use was for heat and cooling, over a quarter for transport, and just under a quarter for electricity.

Renewable electricity consumption rose 12 percent to 216 PJ, now making up half of all electricity used. Wind energy climbed 20 percent to 116 PJ, split roughly evenly between onshore and offshore turbines, with offshore growth fueled by many new installations. Solar power grew 9 percent but slowed due to fewer new panels and less sunlight. Biomass electricity fell 10 percent to 23 PJ, mainly because of reduced biomass use in coal plants.

Renewables accounted for 11.2 percent of heat and cooling energy in 2024, up from 10.2 percent in 2023. Biomass provided the largest share at 56 PJ. Heat pump use grew 16 percent to 30 PJ, geothermal energy rose 10 percent to 7.5 PJ, and renewable cooling reached 6.3 PJ. Solar thermal energy held steady at about 1.2 PJ.

Renewable transport fuels—including biodiesel, biogasoline, and biokerosene—totaled 40 PJ. Biodiesel consumption doubled to 25 PJ due to stricter blending laws. Biokerosene use also doubled to 5 PJ, while biogasoline stayed near 11 PJ.

Road transport consumed 355 PJ of diesel and gasoline, with about 35 PJ blended renewables, making up roughly 10 percent. Kerosene use was 151 PJ, with 5 PJ blended biokerosene, or 3 percent.