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Mon 11 04 2022
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More than half of the electricity from renewable sources last week in the Netherlands

by bernt & torsten

Last week, more than half of all electricity used in the Netherlands came from renewable sources. This is the first time, according to figures from the website Energieopwek.nl, a partnership of Tennet, Gasunie and Netbeheer Nederland, among others.

Nearly 54 percent of the electricity used last week came from renewable sources. For example, 11 percent came from solar energy, 31 percent from wind turbines and almost 10 percent from biomass. In comparison: last year in the peak week, 46 percent of the electricity used came from renewable sources.

According to experts, the record is well explained. On the one hand, more and more use is being made of sustainable sources, for example, because extra wind turbines are being added, and more and more households are purchasing solar panels.

For example, the Borssele wind farm was commissioned in 2020, which means that the capacity of offshore wind farms more than doubled compared to the previous year.

The total power yield of solar panels also continues to grow strongly year after year, according to Statistics Netherlands. For example, the most recent figures from Statistics Netherlands show that electricity generation with solar panels doubled from 2019 to 2020.

Last week’s record yield also relates to weather conditions that were ‘favourable’ for energy generation. If there is a lot of wind and the sun is shining simultaneously, more sustainable energy is generated.

It also helps that it is not very warm yet. The warmer it gets, the more the efficiency of solar panels decreases.

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