Energy: introduction and policy

Energy carriers

The economy of the Netherlands and other industrialised countries is based on the intensive use of energy. Oil, natural gas and hard coal are the most important primary energy carriers. These fossil fuels supply the energy for our society. Primary production of oil and natural gas does take place in the Netherlands. Coal mining is no longer economic in this country and the coal mines in Limburg closed in the 1970s. For hard coal and oil, the Netherlands relies on imports.
Some of the oil, natural gas and hard coal is converted into electricity in electricity plants and combined heat and power plants. The production of electricity in the only Dutch nuclear power station (Borssele) accounts for only a small part of total domestic electricity production (4.1% in 2001).
In addition to the fact that oil and natural gas play an important role in the energy supply, these substances are also used for non-energy purposes, for example as raw materials for the production of plastics and chemical fertilisers.

Environmental pressure energy supply

Extraction, transportation and consumption of the fossil fuel energy carriers, as well as the production of electricity, generate considerable environmental pressure:

there are emissions to the air (mainly of methane) during the extraction, transportation and the distribution of natural gas and oil;
electricity plants consume large quantities of cooling water. In addition, electricity generation produces major emissions (for example, carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x)) and solid waste;
the use of natural gas, oil and hard coal generates important emissions of substances to the air.

Energy-related emissions to the air contribute mainly to the following environmental themes: Climate change (greenhouse effect) and Acidification and transboundary air pollution.

Dutch energy policy: towards sustainable energy management

Since the Derde Energienota (Third Energy Memorandum) (Tweede Kamer, 1996), the energy policy of the government has focused on the deregulation of the energy market (electricity and gas) and encouraging sustainable energy management. Three aspects are important with respect to sustainable energy management: economic efficiency, environmental quality and the reliability of the supply from energy sources.

Reliability of the supply

The term 'reliability of the supply' refers to the level of reliability with respect to the availability of adequate energy sources now and in the future. In the past, the energy problem was mainly viewed in terms of shortages: it was thought that the fossil fuel energy carriers hard coal, oil and natural gas would be exhausted within the foreseeable future. Energy policy in the seventies and eighties therefore focused primarily on energy conservation. It has now become clear that global energy resources are large enough for a long period of intensive energy use. The focus in this theme has therefore shifted to the clean, safe, affordable and timely use of the available energy sources.

Environmental quality

To preserve environmental quality, it will be important to limit CO₂ emissions generated by conventional (fossil-fuel-based) energy production. The Uitvoeringsnota Klimaatbeleid (Climate Policy Implementation Memorandum) (Tweede Kamer, 1999) describes how the Netherlands intends to achieve the Kyoto target (a 6% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 2008-2012 compared to 1990). An important role has been assigned to energy conservation and sustainable energy. The Derde Energienota (Third Energy Memorandum) set a target for the improvement of energy efficiency of 1.6% a year in the period 1995-2020. In response to Kyoto, the Energiebesparingsnota (Energy Conservation Memorandum) of 1998 increased the conservation objective to 2% a year. In the Protocol monitoring Energiebesparing (Energy Conservation Monitoring Protocol) that was drafted recently, this objective was recalculated using the clearest possible definition, resulting in an objective of 1.8%.
Sustainable energy sources are generally thought to include renewable energy resources, in other words useful energy from flow sources, the sun or biomass. However, sustainable energy still plays a minor role in the Netherlands. The share of sustainable energy in total energy use in the Netherlands in 2001 was only 1.2 %. The aim for 2020 is therefore to generate 10% of total energy for domestic use on sustainable lines. An interim objective has been set in the Climate Policy Implementation Memorandum of 5% for 2010.
Various instruments, including the regulatory energy tax, are being used to encourage energy conservation measures and sustainable energy options.

Economic efficiency

The energy sector has been opened up to market forces in order to make it more economically efficient. In this respect, government authorities are moving away from their active role, for example as shareholders and investors, and concentrating more on safeguarding the public interest by introducing rules and enforcing market regulations. In this process, an increasing emphasis is being placed on the international context.
For energy customers, market forces mean freedom of choice: they are given the opportunity to decide for themselves where they buy their energy. As a result of the introduction of freedom of choice for the large energy customers, imports of electricity increased sharply in 1999.

Terms and definitions


Domestic consumption	Production + imports + changes in stocks - exports - bunkers.
Bunkers	Stocks of oil products for transboundary movement.
Sustainable energy	Energy obtained from natural factors such as sunlight and wind and also the renewable component from the combustion of waste.
Energy carriers	Fuels such as oil, natural gas, coal, electricity, steam and forms of sustainable energy.
Energy carrier balance	The balance sheet for a fuel that contains information on extraction, imports and exports, resulting in data on domestic consumption.
Joule	The energy content of various energy carriers is expressed in joules. Commonly used energy units are TJ (terajoule = 10¹² Joule), PJ (petajoule = 10¹⁵ Joule) and EJ (exajoule = 10¹⁸joule). One petajoule is equal to 23.4 million kg of crude oil or 31.6 million m³ of natural gas or 277.8 million kWh of electricity.
Primary energy	Energy, such as natural gas and hard coal, obtained from natural sources.

Source: CBS.	CBS/EDC/Oct02

References

Tweede Kamer (1996). Derde Energienota. Dutch Lower House, 1995-1996, 24525, nos. 1-2, The Hague
Tweede Kamer (1999). Uitvoeringsnota klimaatbeleid. Dutch Lower House, 1998-1999, 26603, no. 2, The Hague.
EZ (2002). Energierapport 2002. Investeren in energie, keuzes voor de toekomst.Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Hague.
VROM (2001). Working on sustainability: Where there's a will there's a world, National Environmental Policy Plan 4. Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, The Hague.

Relevant sections and indicators in the Environmental Data Compendium

Relevant information outside of the Environmental Data Compendium

The Energierapport 2000 (Energy Report 2002) (EZ, 2002) looks in more detail at the reliability of the supply in Dutch energy arrangements and the role played by the Netherlands in the European gas supply.