Half of electricity is produced from renewable sources

© ANP / Peter Hilz
Electricity production from renewable sources such as sun, wind and biomass rose by 10 percent to 61 billion kWh in 2024. Production from fossil sources fell by 4 percent. This means that renewable sources accounted for approximately half of total electricity production. During the sunny and windy month of April, the share of renewables was as high as 63 percent. For the third consecutive year, the Netherlands exported more electricity than it imported. This is according to the latest figures released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Even though it was not as sunny as in previous years, electricity generated from solar energy was up by 11 percent to 22 billion kWh in 2024. This is due to an increase in installed capacity, which rose by 14 percent to 24 GW. By the middle of the year, 42 percent of the installed capacity of solar panels was on the roofs of homes or near them, and the rest on roofs of or near commercial properties.

In 2024, electricity production from solar energy peaked from May to August, accounting for nearly one-third of total electricity produced in that period.

Electricity generated from wind rose by 13 percent

In 2024, electricity generated from wind was up by 13 percent on 2023, reaching 33 billion Kwh. Electricity produced by onshore wind farms remained at the same level. Offshore wind farm production rose by 32 percent to 15 billion kWh. The capacity of onshore wind farms increased slightly, while offshore it rose by 19 percent to 4.7 GW.

Electricity production from wind typically peaks in the winter period from December to February. Over a third of all electricity produced during the winter of 2024 came from wind energy.

Electricity generated from biomass fell by 6 percent, which was mainly due to lower production levels at power stations that co-fire with biomass.

Production from coal sources and natural gas continues to fall

In 2024, electricity generated from coal sources was down by 5 percent from the previous year. Electricity produced from natural gas fell by 4 percent. The main reason for this was the increase in the supply of cheaper electricity generated from solar and wind power. Overall, electricity production from fossil sources fell by 2.5 billion kWh in 2024.


Electricity imports rise and exports fall in 2024

Electricity imports were up by 2 percent to 20 billion kWh in 2024. In particular, imports from Germany (up by 9 percent) and Norway (up by 19 percent) increased while imports from Belgium and Denmark decreased.

Exports of electricity exceeded imports in 2024, just as in the previous two years. Exports declined by 1.0 billion kWh to 24 billion kWh. Exports to Germany (down by 12 percent) and the United Kingdom (down by 24 percent) fell, in particular. Germany was able to import electricity at a lower price, due to increased production by French nuclear power plants. Exports to Belgium actually increased by 17 percent, due in part to lower electricity production at Belgium's gas-fired power plants.

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