Windmills have historically played a major part in the Netherlands by providing an alternative to water driven mills. Earlier this week, one of their national railway companies, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), announced that, since 1st January, every single one of its electric trains have been running on energy harvested from wind. Grid power in fact reflects the overall generation mix, which in the case of the Netherlands is dominantly gas and coal with only a small contribution from wind. The ns also solved the issue of delayed trains by changing the defenition of delay from 3 minutes to 5 minutes. And enjoy 30c/kWh household electric rates, as in Denmark and Germany, without there being one iota of measurable benefit to the planet? The farm consists of three smaller wind farms owned by separate organisations with local community links. The best of EcoWatch, right in your inbox. However, this quotation, which comes from an essay written by earth scientist David Hughes, was cherry-picked and presented out of context to create a deliberately misleading version of what the author actually said. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Because theyre just one part of a wider grid, most train operators use electricity from a mix of different sources coal-fired generators, nuclear plants, hydropower or, in the case of Nederlandse Spoorwegen, exclusively from wind turbines. French people are bricoleurs they like to build their own house, thanks to the fact that if it has a surface below 175 m2 you dont need to go through an architect, you can do your own building plan. And meanwhile the Netherlands electrified railways continue to be powered dominantly by fossil fuel electricity. [3], In March 2022, the Dutch government announced that by 2030 offshore wind was to become the Netherlands' biggest power source, aiming at 21 GW of installed capacity.[4]. The Netherlands national railway company, NS, has announced all of its electric passenger trains (not the freight trains) are now 100% powered by wind energy. PV in Germany, and Energiewende in general, will go down in history as a useless waste of money, a financial disaster which will be used for decades to come as a bad example of ideology-driven energy policy. Sign up for our email newsletter! So we in fact reached our goal a year earlier than planned, said Boon, adding that an increase in the number of wind farms across the country and off the coast of the Netherlands had helped NS achieve its aim. Putting these numbers together indicates that only 10-15% of the electricity consumed annually by NSs electric trains will come from wind, with the rest a mixture that includes mostly Dutch gas and coal plus a small amount of Belgian and German coal, nuclear and lignite and maybe even a little German solar, Andrews explains. This year the country is due to start operating a 600-megawatt offshore wind farm, called Gemini. This passage was written by David Hughes. NS would only care for the environment as a PR stunt, not for the betterment of the planet. The Dutch government is looking to ramp up the nations share of renewable energy from 4 percent in 2014 to 16 percent in 2023. Gimme a break. In other words, the two oldest sources of renewable power, water and wood, are carrying most of the burden for Burlingtons renewable achievement, not the sources that might come to mind when people read the headline. The role of the third (or conductor) rail is to ensure that the electricity is always directly available, so its installed alongside, or in between, the pair of running rails (Keep an eye out for it when youre next on an underground train). [5] The first of these, the 429 MW Noordoostpolder wind farm was already partially deployed by year end 2015 whilst the 600 MW Gemini offshore wind farm was commissioned in 2017. The historical land of windmills is leading the charge in wind energy development. This page was last edited on 14 January 2023, at 23:49. Snopes did not find evidence that Germany was experiencing a "total collapse" in wind and solar energy. Once its in the network, there are three main options for getting the electricity to the trains themselves: Youve probably noticed at least one of these options on your rail journeys. Apart from the first rather obvious problems, anyone with the most basic understanding of electrical enrgy, as taught before 16 at school, would immediately know this was a wholly untrue technical assertion. [5] In 2020 wind power provided 11.54% of the Dutch electricity generation (see table above) while solar power provided an additional 7.25% for a combined 18.79% - easily meeting the target without taking other renewable sources into account, even though the target for onshore wind capacity was not met. How much of the Netherlands electricity is supplied by wind? Built 1992 this nearshore wind farm had just 4 Nedwind 500 KW turbines based 1km to shore. Hughes didn't make that statement of all windmills, and he allowed that some could recoup their construction costs in three years or less. At this point, total Dutch wind power generation is about 7.4 billion kWh annually. [2] The Dutch are trying to meet the EU-set target of producing 14% of total energy use from renewable sources by 2020, and 16% by 2023. The city also gets about a third of its power from a large biomass plant. This material may not be reproduced without permission. The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. 150, 200, 225, 300, 500, 750, 850 and 1300kW. At near the speed of light, is there such a thing as national or regional energy mix, other than in our habit forming minds? In 2006, the Egmond aan Zee Offshore Wind Farm was built, consisting of 36 Vestas V90 3MW turbines, totaling 108 MW, sufficient to light 100,000 houses. Rather they act like a component in an electric circuit. It sharply cut subsidies down to 1.5 billion, leaving private sector to carry over wind turbine investments should these be beneficial.[6]. (Figure 2: Note the dotted lines showing non-electrified track. Dutch electric trains are running on 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of wind energy supplied by sustainable energy supplier, Eneco. One wind turbine running for an hour can power a train for 120 miles, the companies said. The Same Reason You Would Study Anything Else, The (Mostly) Quantum Physics Of Making Colors, This Simple Thought Experiment Shows Why We Need Quantum Gravity, How The Planck Satellite Forever Changed Our View Of The Universe. They hope to reduce the energy used per passenger by a further 35% by 2020 compared with 2005. And only half of the wind power NS has contracted for comes from the Netherlands. It is just another way for RE politicians to bamboozle the lay public and keep the green mythology alive. Its own wind farms, built in the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, and Sweden, aim to generate enough energy to fulfill NS's demand of about 1.4 terawatt-hours for 2017 (enough to power a million . But there is no guarantee that the unfilled demand will be met by renewables, and in any event the 1.2-1.4TWh/year consumed by NS represents barely more than 1% of the Netherlands annual electricity consumption and a totally negligible fraction of European consumption. Three strikes. As a retired telecomms engineer Im glad not to be repeatedly telling folks from the US that T1 is not a global standard any more! In Norway 132,2 million guarantees of origin for hydro power were issued in 2014, corresponding to 132,2 Twh. 2009. HomerDixon.com. [62], Installed land-based wind capacity (MW) by. Started operations 2009. The Dutch government has set a target of 6,000 MW nameplate capacity of onshore wind power by 2020 (not met, as per the data above) and 4,450 MW of offshore wind power by 2023. The Netherlands, aka Windmill Country, is now operating 100 percent of its electric trains with wind energy. Knew this was BS from the headline. This is the cause of the very bright, blue-white spark you sometimes see near the third rail, as well as flickering carriage lights. Under this system the government chooses locations and organizes tenders for projects of 350 MW, and project developers can offer bids for each farm. Earlier this week, one of their national railway companies, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), announced that, since 1 st January, every single one of its electric trains have been running on energy. This question generated a number of comments in the last Blowout so I thought I would take a quick look at it. World-famous for their picturesque windmills, the Netherlands has always had a love affair with wind energy. The company said all electric trains were now powered by wind energy. [61], In 2008, a second, somewhat larger offshore wind farm was built: the Princess Amalia Wind Farm, consisting of 60 Vestas V80 2MW turbines totaling 120 MW, sufficient to power 125,000 homes and help the Netherlands cut 225,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. So how does NS justify the claim that all Dutch trains run on 100% wind power? Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. In 2017, our trains in the Netherlands became the first in the world to run for 100% on wind energy, giving travellers the option of travelling without CO2 emissions. , I am told Biogas is not actually allowed in our pipeline system.. The Dutch railway folks have PPAs to buy energy only from renewable energy producers, and thus claim, our passenger trains run on renewable energy, but fail to add on a contract basis. Stations are heated using heat exchangers, green gas or green electricity. All wind amd solar energy gets a hefty FIT tariff in the Netherlands, intended to guarantee profitability of the energy investment over the long term (even if the electricity market price goes negative, for example). By tapping into both domestic and foreign sources of wind power, it [ensures] that there is always sufficient green power available on the grid for rail companies, even if the wind is not blowing, the company explained. The Dutch rail network will run entirely on renewable wind energy by 2018 under a new contract signed by power company Eneco and energy procurement cooperative VIVENS. A two-megawatt windmill contains 260 tonnes of steel requiring 170 tonnes of. ) can ever bring them off balance They dont understand, but they believe ! Julian Turner gets the inside track on the unique collaboration from Michel Kerkhof, account manager at Eneco. 15ct/kWh, 100%hydro, no nuclear or gray labeled power bought for pumping. This year, Dutch commuters ditched fossil fuels to power their country's trains on 100% wind energy - and it's a grand idea that's catching on the world over. UK Government to Announce New Energy Policies, Waking into our new volatile age of oil prices. Figure 1: The Netherlands generation mix 2000-2013. An Eneco and NS joint website. So even if this claim were true, it would require exponentially more windmills and/or solar panels to cover any significant portion of the continental United States. Impressively, this means their initial goal was met one whole year ahead of schedule. What Was It Like When The Universe First Created More Matter Than Antimatter? Belgium and Finland, wind farm portfolio guarantees sufficient capacity to cover such eventualities, http://www.sciencealert.com/all-electric-trains-in-the-netherlands-are-now-100-powered-by-wind-energy, http://www.djtelectricaltraining.co.uk/downloads/50Hz-Frequency.pdf, http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-e1-and-vs-t1/, https://askjaenergy.com/2015/03/23/does-apple-not-want-truly-green-data-centers/. I believe in low carbon power, just that I also believe in security of supply, and with wind, or solar or tidal, you cant get it. Passing through the gates without traveling, Forgetting to check in or out and requesting refunds, Sustainable accessibility of the Netherlands, More information about NS buses that run on HVO. There is, however, a problem. Began operating in 1990. In fact, an investigation by Energy Matters finds that the electrified portion of NS mainly runs on electricity derived from coal and natural gas. For NS to use only wind power from wind farms to power its rail system the wind farms must be connected directly to NSs railways. (my emphasis). I have just signed up with EON at 9.4p per Kwh, It is common for major companies to claim they use renewable or carbon-free power only, on the grounds of green certificates. [19] In July 2016, the first two stages of offshore wind farm development for a combined 700 MegaWatt capacity in a water area near Borssele was awarded to DONG Energy at a price of 7.27 Euro cent per kilowatt hour for 15 years. This is a BETA experience. The problem with the high costs for heating in France is the really poor quality of the dwellings, their poor insulating and cheap quality whatever means of heating one uses its literally money thrown away. Yeap. There are very little poor people in Germany., http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/high-costs-and-errors-of-german-transition-to-renewable-energy-a-920288.html, The Spiegel FUD wont cut it. Active 2016. In 2016, Dutch wind hit the headlines again, when a 700 MW offshore windfarm near the town of Borssele became the most cost-effective in the world. Half of this electricity comes from the Netherlands, and the other half is imported from Sweden, Finland, and Belgium. No direct subsidies from the government are related to this contract.. Homer-Dixon did not write this viral quote, but he did comment on it in a May 2018 blog post entitled: "No . Thatd give us a consumption figure for the city of around 1.5 billion kWh. See the table below for the current situation. Over the course of this year the average will be around 11%, equal to wind powers share of the Netherlands annual grid electricity consumption. With wind power usage in 2015 equal to 12.5 billion kWh, Dutch demand for wind power amply exceeds supply. Produced at least 14 models of 100. The first two are feel good justifications that have no practical impact. Railway Gazette reports that NS records about 1.2 million passenger-journeys per day, with an annual energy requirement for 1.2 billion kWh. One such example is the largest wind farm in Holland, Noordoostpolder, which is installing industrial scale wind turbines such as the new Enercon onshore wind turbines, at the time the largest onshore turbines in the world rated at 7500kW nameplate capacity. NS and Eneco first announced their plan of a wind-powered railway in 2015 in order to drastically slash train ride emissions. "Since 1 January, 100% of our trains are running on wind energy," said NS spokesman, Ton . Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Why cant, errr sorry, why Dont you? NS uses as much electricity as all Amsterdam residents combined, and its trains represent over 90 percent of commercial train travel in the country. Electricity is electricity, electron charge transfer. Just fit smart controls where their systems draw power from the grid. Wind turbines feed electricity into the grid and the electric company credits them for the electricity. Wind farmsboth onshore and offshoreare regarded as a key component in renewable energy policy and an important tool in mitigating the risks of climate change. NS is the main public train in the Netherlands. How much wind? Especially since there are no green electrons. I live in France since 20 years, have almost always used electricity to heat my house and always saved money with respect to the neighbours who used other means. And of course no such connections exist. When wind power is fed into a grid it becomes inextricably mixed with all the vibrating electrons from other generation sources to the point where there is no way of knowing where any power taken from the grid came from. [1], By December 2013, 1,975 wind turbines were operational on land in the Netherlands, with an aggregate capacity of 2,479 MW. You may have a battery bank to store some of it in case of an outage, but mostly it will go to the electric company and they credit you. Consumer unions help by auctioning for grouped members. Supply from all generators is monitored in any case, all youd have to do is add up the According to Eneco, the power used by the carriers comes from newly built wind farms in the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Belgium. Established 1983. It seems that NS may be outsourcing costs as well as power. However, wind power consumption in the Netherlands in 2015 was 12.5TWh, indicating that about 5TWh of wind power was imported during the year. You may opt-out by. But of course even two-thirds of the NS system doesnt run completely on wind power. What Is (And Isn't) Scientific About The Multiverse. These wind turbines generate enough power to sustain the equivalent of 2.4 million homes. Apparently Eneco can make the wind blow to order.). More than 12% of the Netherland's electricity is generated from renewable sources, mainly biomass and waste (5% of the total) and wind (7% of the total). As of January 1, all electric passenger trains on the Dutch rail network have been run on wind energy, according to a statement from operator NS (via EcoWatch ). An all-electric heating is much easier to implement, few properly dimensioned wires and cheap heaters, while a gas heater needs specific know-how and is much more capital-intensive. I guess I could have found something cheaper still if Id looked hard enough. They have been working with Eneco, a sustainable energy supplier operating in the Netherlands, for several years. [5] This will contribute towards the Dutch target of 14% renewable energy use out of total energy use by 2020[10] and 16% by 2023.
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