Bioenergy plays a key role in Dutch energy policy
The use of gas to cook and for heating will be phased out in the Netherlands under the government’s new energy strategy up to 2050. Instead homes and offices will be heated by surplus heat generated by industry and energy-from-waste plants as well as from geothermal sources.
The Energieagenda policy document, published on 7 December, 2016, states that gas firms will no longer be required to connect households to the gas supply and that no new gas infrastructure will be developed.
Cooking will be done on electric hobs.
The Energieagenda is a follow up to the energy agreement reached in 2013 between the government, industry, lobby groups and unions. That agreement set out a programme to ensure 16% of Dutch energy requirements are met from sustainable sources by 2023.
Now, in order to meet the agreement reached in Paris last year, CO2 emissions must be reduced to almost zero by 2050, Kamp says.
In an interview with the NRC, Kamp said that the shift to a gas-free society will happen gradually. Some seven million households are currently connected to the gas grid.
Biofuels
After 2023, the government has set the following goals:
- The number of fully electric cars and cars running on hydrogen will increase. From 2035 it is only possible to sell sustainable cars in the Netherlands.
- The railway sector will completely switch to green electricity. From 2025 to create new public transport buses using renewable energy or biofuel.
