The Hague, Sep 10 : Consumers and companies in the Netherlands are making use of less natural gas, and are turning to renewable energy sources and coal sources, as the country along with numerous other European countries, is afflicted by decreasing natural gas supplies from Russia.Prices are soaring and officials are looking for storage options and storage sites.
“Gas consumption has decreased across society, from the companies to individuals,” Peter Hein van Mulligen the chief economist at Statistics Netherlands, told Xinhua news agency on Friday.
“This is likely to continue for a long time as well, and it has to be with the price increase.Everyone requires gas, so the price increases and companies are seeking alternatives.”
Natural gas usage in the Netherlands was 17.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) in the first six months of 2022 that’s 25 percent lower than in the same time frame the previous year, according to Statistics Netherlands.
Power plants and manufacturing in particular utilized less natural gas, reducing by 30 percent and 28 percent, respectively.
The decrease in gas consumption is in line with changes in the electricity generation.
In the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, the generation of electricity from coal increased by 40 percent and renewable sources increased by 25 percent year-on-year.
In the same time 19 percent less power was produced by natural gas.
Wind power and solar power also showed significant growth, with 40 percent and 25 percent, in each case, in Q2.The bright weather and increase in solar panel capacity installed have produced in an increase in the generation of electricity by solar panels.Wind farms also increased the output as a result of the increased capacity of turbines onshore and favorable weather conditions.
The Dutch government has managed to fill its gas storages to about 80 percent of capacity, which is in line with the European Union (EU) target.
“It is great news that, despite the challenging circumstances we have been successful in the gas storages of our country up to over 80 percent nearly two months ahead of the European deadline,” Minister for Climate and Energy Policy Rob Jetten said.
The filling process is continuing before the start of winter to avoid bottlenecks in supply.
In the last week this week, this week, the Eemshaven port in the northern province of Groningen opened a brand new LNG liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal made up of two floating units run by Dutch energy network operator Gasunie.
The new terminal along with an earlier LNG terminal in the port of Rotterdam which has been expanded, has increased the nation’s LNG import capacity.
The Eemshaven floating terminal converts LNG to gaseous form which is then fed into the natural gas network of the nation or exported to other countries.
The country will be able to buy an extra 8 billion cubic meters of gas.
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