How much energy is consumed in the Netherlands?
The Netherlands consumed over 2,600 PJ (petajoules)noot1 of energy in 2023, including industry, households, transport and agriculture. That was nearly 25 percent less than in 2010. Prior to 2010, energy consumption had increased by over 100 times since the beginning of the nineteenth century. In recent years, ever more energy has been generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar and water.
In 1800, gross national energy consumption stood at 31 PJ, and peat (37 percent) and coal (14 percent) provided important sources of fossil energy. In addition, non-fossil sources such as windmills, water mills and wood provided nearly half of all energy produced.
From coal to crude oil
After 1860, the Netherlands gradually switched to using coal as a source of energy. By 1900, nearly 80 percent of all energy consumed was derived from coal – over five times more than in 1860.
After World War II, crude oil became an increasingly important source of energy, partly due to the sharp increase in the number of cars and lorries on the roads. Energy consumption from crude oil continued to rise until 1973, after which there was a temporary fall. The oil crisis and the introduction of other sources of energy such as natural gas were important factors underlying this decline.
Netherlands switches to natural gas
In 1959, a gas field was discovered in the province of Groningen. Energy consumption from natural gas rose to nearly 1,700 PJ by 2010, but natural gas consumption began to decrease after 2010. This was partly due to improved energy-efficiency and the introduction of renewable sources.
Since 1969, the Netherlands has also been generating electricity from nuclear energy. The consumption of nuclear energy reached a peak in 1980, at 46 PJ.
| Jaartal | Crude oil | Natural gas | Coal | Non-fossil |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1058.5 | 1286.5 | 366.9 | 117.1 |
| 1991 | 1049.4 | 1438.8 | 335.6 | 114.5 |
| 1992 | 1062.1 | 1393.7 | 335.3 | 124.8 |
| 1993 | 1071.6 | 1434.7 | 336.6 | 133.7 |
| 1994 | 1092.8 | 1396.7 | 367.2 | 134.4 |
| 1995 | 1121.4 | 1444.2 | 373.6 | 145.4 |
| 1996 | 1149.1 | 1591.0 | 361.1 | 153.7 |
| 1997 | 1150.4 | 1496.8 | 351.7 | 149.4 |
| 1998 | 1157.3 | 1487.5 | 357.9 | 164.3 |
| 1999 | 1156.3 | 1447.8 | 312.3 | 191.3 |
| 2000 | 1158.8 | 1465.7 | 325.2 | 196.8 |
| 2001 | 1188.7 | 1501.8 | 346.2 | 194.5 |
| 2002 | 1219.5 | 1498.9 | 348.0 | 198.5 |
| 2003 | 1306.2 | 1506.4 | 359.3 | 202.5 |
| 2004 | 1306.0 | 1538.6 | 354.6 | 211.5 |
| 2005 | 1305.0 | 1479.0 | 338.6 | 241.2 |
| 2006 | 1314.5 | 1433.7 | 323.9 | 251.6 |
| 2007 | 1320.8 | 1395.7 | 351.8 | 247.9 |
| 2008 | 1239.2 | 1451.0 | 333.5 | 260.0 |
| 2009 | 1207.4 | 1486.0 | 312.4 | 235.7 |
| 2010 | 1256.1 | 1677.6 | 315.5 | 223.7 |
| 2011 | 1200.9 | 1467.2 | 311.4 | 258.0 |
| 2012 | 1217.4 | 1402.0 | 341.1 | 291.0 |
| 2013 | 1144.0 | 1397.6 | 342.8 | 281.5 |
| 2014 | 1131.4 | 1218.4 | 378.8 | 281.9 |
| 2015 | 1136.2 | 1198.6 | 464.3 | 271.0 |
| 2016 | 1174.3 | 1257.5 | 430.2 | 264.0 |
| 2017 | 1190.1 | 1304.4 | 385.7 | 269.7 |
| 2018 | 1162.1 | 1286.9 | 345.9 | 304.4 |
| 2019 | 1120.1 | 1342.2 | 268.9 | 315.7 |
| 2020 | 1098.6 | 1316.8 | 172.0 | 363.0 |
| 2021** | 1115.9 | 1262.6 | 234.4 | 421.2 |
| 2022** | 1065.3 | 977.9 | 231.6 | 425.3 |
| 2023* | 1090.2 | 927.8 | 158.1 | 464.4 |
| * provisional figures | ||||
| ** more detailed provisional figures | ||||
More renewable energy
Currently, an increasing share of our energy comes from renewable sources such as solar, wind and biomass. In 2023, 15 percent of energy consumed in the Netherlands was renewable: a total of 403 PJ. The production and consumption of solar energy, in particular, has grown sharply in recent years.
Despite the sharp rise in renewables, fossil energy is still the most important. Natural gas, crude oil and coal combined accounted for over 80 percent of all energy consumed in 2023.
| Perioden | Biomass | Wind | Solar | Ambient energy | Geothermal | Cogeneration (CHP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 30.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | . | . | 0.3 |
| 1991 | 30.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | . | . | 0.4 |
| 1992 | 31.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | . | . | 0.4 |
| 1993 | 33.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | . | . | 0.3 |
| 1994 | 33.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | . | . | 0.4 |
| 1995 | 36.8 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | . | 0.3 |
| 1996 | 42.2 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | . | 0.3 |
| 1997 | 45.5 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | . | 0.3 |
| 1998 | 47.4 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | . | 0.4 |
| 1999 | 49.7 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | . | 0.3 |
| 2000 | 52.5 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | . | 0.5 |
| 2001 | 55.4 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | . | 0.4 |
| 2002 | 60.6 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | . | 0.4 |
| 2003 | 57.8 | 4.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | . | 0.3 |
| 2004 | 67.2 | 6.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | . | 0.3 |
| 2005 | 85.6 | 7.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | . | 0.3 |
| 2006 | 89.0 | 9.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | . | 0.4 |
| 2007 | 89.5 | 12.4 | 1.0 | 1.2 | . | 0.4 |
| 2008 | 104.2 | 15.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| 2009 | 117.8 | 16.5 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| 2010 | 119.2 | 14.4 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| 2011 | 122.9 | 18.4 | 1.4 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| 2012 | 126.4 | 17.9 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| 2013 | 118.0 | 20.3 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| 2014 | 115.9 | 20.9 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 0.4 |
| 2015 | 115.4 | 27.2 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 2.4 | 0.3 |
| 2016 | 115.0 | 29.4 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 2.8 | 0.4 |
| 2017 | 118.2 | 38.0 | 9.1 | 7.6 | 3.0 | 0.2 |
| 2018 | 128.4 | 38.0 | 14.5 | 9.1 | 3.7 | 0.3 |
| 2019 | 149.0 | 41.4 | 20.6 | 10.9 | 5.6 | 0.3 |
| 2020 | 176.8 | 55.0 | 32.0 | 13.5 | 6.2 | 0.2 |
| 2021 | 204.0 | 64.5 | 41.9 | 16.2 | 6.3 | 0.3 |
| 2022** | 187.4 | 77.0 | 62.7 | 20.5 | 6.8 | 0.2 |
| 2023* | 191.9 | 105.0 | 73.1 | 25.8 | 6.5 | 0.2 |
| * provisional figures | ||||||
| ** more detailed provisional figures | ||||||
Sources
StatLine – Energy balance sheet; supply, transformation and consumption
Notes
Petajoule
In 2023, one PJ was equivalent to the energy consumption of approximately 25 thousand households.