How many wind turbines in the Netherlands?
By the end of 2020, the Netherlands had 2,606 wind turbines in use to generate electricity; 2,144 were located on land (inland waterways included) and 462 at sea. In 2020, these turbines generated enough electricity to power 5.6 million households (15.3 billion kWh), with 36 percent coming from offshore turbines and 64 percent from onshore turbines. Wind power production rose to 17.9 billion kWh in 2021.
Due to a greater average shaft height, offshore wind turbines, with an average capacity of 5 megawatts (MW), can generate more power than onshore turbines (2 MW). Moreover, offshore wind turbines receive a greater wind supply, allowing them to generate more electricity. The so-called production factor, i.e. the actual electricity production divided by the maximum possible production, is 41 percent for an offshore turbine, against 29 percent for an onshore turbine.
| Onshore generation | Offshore generation | Installed onshore capacity | Installed offshore capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.8 | . | 447 | . |
| 2001 | 0.8 | . | 485 | . |
| 2002 | 0.9 | . | 672 | . |
| 2003 | 1.3 | . | 905 | . |
| 2004 | 1.9 | . | 1075 | . |
| 2005 | 2.1 | . | 1224 | . |
| 2006 | 2.7 | 0.1 | 1453 | 108 |
| 2007 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 1641 | 108 |
| 2008 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 1921 | 228 |
| 2009 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 1994 | 228 |
| 2010 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 2009 | 228 |
| 2011 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 2088 | 228 |
| 2012 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 2205 | 228 |
| 2013 | 4.9 | 0.8 | 2485 | 228 |
| 2014 | 5 | 0.7 | 2637 | 228 |
| 2015 | 6.4 | 1.1 | 3034 | 357 |
| 2016 | 5.9 | 2.3 | 3300 | 957 |
| 2017 | 6.9 | 3.7 | 3245 | 957 |
| 2018 | 6.9 | 3.6 | 3436 | 957 |
| 2019 | 7.9 | 3.6 | 3527 | 957 |
| 2020** | 9.9 | 5.5 | 4159 | 2460 |
| 2021 * | 9.9 | 8 | 5341 | 2460 |
| *Provisional figures, **Revised provisional figures | ||||
Wind largest source for renewable electricity
In 2021, wind energy generated 14.7 percent of the total domestic electricity consumption.noot1 Wind energy has been the main source of renewable electricitynoot2 since 2014: 45 percent of all renewable electricity production in 2021. While the growth of onshore wind turbines is increasing steadily every year, the increase in offshore turbines happens in leaps and bounds. The reason for this is that offshore wind turbines are more expensive to install and projects deliver many large wind turbines in one go.
Most onshore wind energy produced along the coast
Three quarters of the total installed onshore wind energy capacity is found along the coast, in the Regional Energy Strategy (RES) regions of Flevoland, Groningen, Noord-Holland Noord, Zeeland and Rotterdam/The Hague. In 2020, the wind turbines in these regions generated 74 percent (7.3 kWh) of the onshore wind energy production.
| RES region | Installed capacity |
|---|---|
| Groningen | 618 |
| Friesland | 198 |
| Drenthe | 43 |
| Twente | |
| West-Overijssel | 66 |
| Flevoland | 1169 |
| Achterhoek | 30 |
| Arnhem/Nijmegen | 18 |
| Foodvalley | 6 |
| Noord-Veluwe | |
| Rivierenland (Fruitdelta) | 79 |
| Stedendriehoek/Cleantech | 6 |
| Amersfoort | |
| U10/U16 | 34 |
| Noord-Holland Noord | 536 |
| Noord-Holland Zuid | 106 |
| Alblasserwaard | 9 |
| Drechtsteden | 9 |
| Goeree-Overflakkee | 77 |
| Hoeksewaard | 56 |
| Holland Rijnland | 24 |
| Midden-Holland | 12 |
| Rotterdam/Den Haag | 258 |
| Zeeland | 525 |
| Hart van Brabant | 37 |
| Metropoolregio Eindhoven | 21 |
| Noordoost-Brabant | 2 |
| West-Brabant | 199 |
| Noord- en Midden-Limburg | 21 |
| Zuid-Limburg |
Sources
StatLine – Renewable electricity; production and capacity
StatLine – Renewable energy; consumption by energy source, technology and application
Relevant links
Publication – Renewable energy in the Netherlands 2020 (Dutch only)
News release – Lower renewable energy share despite more solar and wind energy
The questions
- How does CBS collect data?
- How much do we cycle per week on average?
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- How many people visited Bonaire by cruise ship?
- Are people happy with the house they live in?
- How many young women encounter street harassment?
- What do the over-65s do online?
- How many wind turbines in the Netherlands?
- How far is school by bike?
- How many museums are there?
- How much electricity in the Caribbean Netherlands is renewable?
- How many adults are overweight?
- How many cargo ships dock at Dutch seaports?
- What did we listen to on the radio in 1953?
- What is the average lifespan in the Netherlands?
- Where did we go for a holiday in 1947?
- How much fish is landed?
- Where were people in the Netherlands born?
- What do we spend money on?
- How old are Dutch first-time mothers on average?
- How much cheese do we produce?
- How are goods transported through the Netherlands?
- How many people fall victim to cybercrime?
- What is the most spoken language or dialect at home?
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- What is the value of Dutch beer exports?
- How often do we have a goosebump moment?
- How many cows graze in fields?
- What are the most popular majors?
- How tall are Dutch people?
- How is the urban bird population doing?
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Noten
Gross final electricity consumption
Gross electricity production is the production including the turbine’s own use. Wind turbines’ own use is the electricity needed to generate electricity.
Renewable electricity
Energy generated from natural sources which are replenished constantly. This includes wind, hydropower, solar, geothermal and aerothermal energy as well as biomass. Fossil energy and nuclear energy do not qualify as renewable energy, as they originate from resources that are not replenished.