The Netherlands generated nearly half its electricity from renewables last year

The Netherlands generated 48% of its electricity from renewable energy sources in 2023. The country is moving away from its traditionally fossil-fuel-based energy mix towards low-emission sources. The figures were reported by the Statistics Netherlands.

Renewable generation increased by a full 21% in 2023 compared with the previous year. The share of electricity generated from fossil fuels fell, and the Netherlands exported more electricity to neighbouring countries than ever before.

A total of 120 TWh of electricity was generated in the country in 2023, 1% more than in the previous year. Fossil fuels accounted for 58 TWh, 12% less than in 2022. Specifically, considerably less electricity was generated from coal and natural gas, with coal’s share of the generation mix falling by 38% and natural gas’s by 4%. The increase was partly due to higher output from wind farms, but also from solar power plants. A similar trend can be seen across almost all of Europe.

Electricity generation from renewable energy sources rose to 57 TWh in 2023. Wind power generation increased by 35% compared with the previous year, reaching 29 TWh. This increase was also driven by a rise in installed wind capacity, both onshore and offshore.

Total installed wind capacity reached 11 GW in 2023. Electricity generation from photovoltaic plants also increased, by almost a quarter. A total of 21 TWh of electricity was generated from solar power in 2023. One of the main reasons was a 4.3 GW increase in installed photovoltaic capacity.

A further 7 TWh of electricity was generated from biomass, 1.7 TWh less than in the previous year. This was partly because less biomass fuel was used in coal-fired power plants.

Exports also grew as renewable generation increased

The Netherlands is becoming an electricity-exporting country. In 2023, it exported a record 25 TWh of electricity, up 10% year on year. The largest volumes went to Germany (10 TWh), followed by Belgium (8 TWh) and the United Kingdom (4 TWh). The Netherlands also imported electricity last year, specifically 19.4 TWh. Even so, for the second consecutive year, Statistics Netherlands recorded more electricity exports than imports. Net exports stood at 4.3 TWh in 2022 and increased further to 5.7 TWh last year.