In 2019, electricity production in the Netherlands reached a record level of 121 billion kWh. This is a 6-percent increase on the previous year. The consumption of electricity remained more or less stable. There is a clear shift from coal to natural gas as a raw material for electricity generation. At the same time, imports from Germany declined. This is evident from new figures released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
Electricity production shifting from coal to natural gas
Electricity production from coal sources saw a sharp decline from over 27 billion kWh in 2018 to over 17 billion kWh in 2019. In the same period, electricity production using natural gas rose from nearly 58 billion kWh to 71 billion kWh. Low natural gas prices as well as high carbon prices contributed to this development. Gas-fired electricity production generates proportionately less CO2 per kWh than coal-fired electricity production.
More electricity from renewable sources than from coal
Total electricity production from renewable sources increased from nearly 19 billion kWh in 2018 to almost 22 billion kWh in 2019. This means that renewable electricity production levels exceeded coal-fired electricity production levels for the first time.
Strong decline in electricity imports from Germany
Electricity imports from Germany declined from 21 billion kWh in 2018 to 12 billion kWh in 2019. At the same time, the export of Dutch electricity to Germany increased sixfold.
The opposite was the case with respect to Belgium. Last year, electricity imports from Belgium were up by 2.8 billion kWh, while exports were down by 3.8 billion kWh.
Source: Statistics Netherlands