How much electricity in the Caribbean Netherlands is renewable?
In 2021, 24 percent of total electricity production in the Caribbean Netherlands came from renewable sources. Most of the renewable electricity comes from wind turbines, followed by solar panels. Especially on St Eustatius and Saba, solar power generation has increased in recent years.
The total electricity production of the three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands combined was 156.2 million kWh in 2021, of which 24 percent (37.7 million kWh) came from renewable sources. The figure in 2012 was 29 percent (32.5 million kWh). In 2018, electricity production from renewable sources peaked at 33 percent.
European Netherlands’ total electricity production was 121.6 billion kWh; of this, 40.2 billion kWh came from renewable sources, equivalent to 33 percent of total electricity production. From 2020, the share of renewable electricity in the European Netherlands is higher than that in the Caribbean Netherlands. This higher share is partly due to the fact that the power from solar panels on homes and businesses are not counted in the Caribbean Netherlands, while they are counted in the European Netherlands.
| Jaartal | Caribbean Netherlands | European Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 28.6 | 12.2 |
| 2013 | 31.6 | 12.0 |
| 2014 | 34.3 | 11.3 |
| 2015 | 31.6 | 12.4 |
| 2016 | 28.5 | 12.8 |
| 2017 | 25.8 | 14.9 |
| 2018 | 33.1 | 16.5 |
| 2019 | 28.4 | 18.8 |
| 2020 | 22.7 | 26.7 |
| 2021 | 24.1 | 33.0 |
Bonaire mostly depends on wind energy
Electricity production on Bonaire amounted to 130.6 million kWh in 2021, of which 29.2 million kWh (22 percent) was generated from renewable sources. Wind turbines had generated almost all renewable electricity (99 percent). The remaining percent was produced by solar panels. In 2014, Bonaire had the highest share of renewable electricity, when it stood at 42 percent. In subsequent years, this was about 30 percent.
| Jaartal | Fossil | Renewable |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 58.6 | 32.5 |
| 2013 | 56.9 | 36.7 |
| 2014 | 56.1 | 41.2 |
| 2015 | 63.4 | 40.1 |
| 2016 | 73.3 | 35.1 |
| 2017 | 81.9 | 31.5 |
| 2018 | 76.0 | 37.1 |
| 2019 | 88.1 | 32.5 |
| 2020 | 95.7 | 25.4 |
| 2021 | 101.5 | 29.2 |
More solar power on St Eustatius
Electricity production on St Eustatius amounted to 16.3 million kWh in 2021. Of this amount, 5.2 million kWh came from renewable sources, equivalent to 32 percent. In 2018, the share of renewable electricity peaked at 45 percent. The drop in 2020 and 2021 was linked to plant maintenance. This electricity was mainly produced from solar panels. The generation of solar power started in 2016 with the first phase of the installation of a solar park. In November 2017, the second phase was completed, greatly increasing solar energy output on the island.
During the day, the solar farm on St Eustatius meets the island’s entire electricity needs. In the evening and at night, and in adverse conditions such as cloudy weather, the system automatically switches to diesel generators which then take over production.
| Jaartal | Fossil | Renewable |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 13.7 | 0.0 |
| 2013 | 13.5 | 0.0 |
| 2014 | 13.4 | 0.0 |
| 2015 | 13.9 | 0.0 |
| 2016 | 11.6 | 2.3 |
| 2017 | 10.2 | 3.8 |
| 2018 | 7.8 | 6.5 |
| 2019 | 8.7 | 6.3 |
| 2020 | 10.4 | 4.8 |
| 2021 | 11.1 | 5.2 |
Solar parks on Saba
Electricity production on Saba amounted to 9.2 million kWh in 2021, of which 3.3 million kWh came from renewable sources. This represents 36 percent of the total production. Saba now boasts two solar parks. The first solar park became operational in February 2018 followed by a second solar park the next year, as of February 2019.
Sources
StatLine – Caribbean Netherlands; connections and electricity and water output
StatLine – Renewable electricity; production and capacity
StatLine – Electricity balance sheet; supply and consumption
The questions
- How does CBS collect data?
- How much do we cycle per week on average?
- Who are most likely to work part-time?
- 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?
- How many shops are there?
- 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?
- Where do most people work?
- What colour is our car?
- How does CBS handle your privacy?