Just fit smart controls where their systems draw power from the grid. "Since 1 January, 100% of our trains are running on wind energy," said NS spokesman, Ton . Two of the models are still under production. I think the trains in the Netherlands use 1.5kVDC anyway bet there are no wind turbines producing that directly. The largest wind farm in the Netherlands is Noordoostpolder with a capacity of 429 MW. Up until the Westereems Wind Park was commissioned the largest onshore wind farm was the Princess Alexia Windpark in Zeewolde (122MW),[36] consisting of 36 REpower turbines and a 3.2MW/33MWh battery storage power station of BMW i3 batteries. In contrast to onshore wind farms, almost all turbines by January 2017 were situated in just a few large wind farms. And given that the company carries 600,000 people per day, the amount of electricity they need isnt trivial around 1.2 billion kWh of electricity a year. How much wind? In 2016, Dutch wind hit the headlines again, when a 700 MW offshore windfarm near the town of Borssele became the most cost-effective in the world. Started operations 2009. Same thing if you got solar panels on your house. In this way, the Dutch railways aim to reduce the greatest negative environmental impact caused by CO2 in such a way that its demand actually contributes to the sustainable power generation in the Netherlands and Europe.. Once its in the network, there are three main options for getting the electricity to the trains themselves: Youve probably noticed at least one of these options on your rail journeys. [1] [2] [7] The project cost $272 million and is cooperatively owned by Royal Dutch Shell and the Dutch utility company Nuon. Every electric train on the Dutch railways NS network now gets 100 per cent of its energy from wind energy. Everybody should buy only 100% RE. If it was based on the former there would a strong possibility that these companies could be oversubscribed with customers who may not receive true renewable energy when the wind does not blow. No direct subsidies from the government are related to this contract.. So that is coal fired power not going into the Netherlands grid. So, the fact that they can now reliably produce it from wind is big news. The turbines supply enough energy to power 2.4 million households. Railway Gazette reports that NS records about 1.2 million passenger-journeys per day, with an annual energy requirement for 1.2 billion kWh. New wind farm deployment is based on the SER agreement that describes a plan for five years of tendering 700 MW per year. Only a small fraction of the power delivered to its trains actually comes from wind. Imports from the German grid, however, will contain about 14% wind power, although not wind power that NS has contracted for. The Dutch and other people draw energy from the European grid, which has been generated by many sources. Built 1992 this nearshore wind farm had just 4 Nedwind 500 KW turbines based 1km to shore. The actual amount of green energy produced is unaffected.. NS would only care for the environment as a PR stunt, not for the betterment of the planet. http://www.litgrid.eu/index.php/sistemos-duomenys/79. When I travel, I just plug in my electric razor, which automatically converts it. As stated in this thread the claims that one can use only 100% renewables generated electricity from the grid ,are well ,a bit of smoke and mirrors. This is hardly enough to make a big deal about. Half of this electricity comes from the Netherlands, and the other half is imported from Sweden, Finland, and Belgium. 90/month for the typical 3 person household. I am laughing. Reply to Rod above went to the wrong place and left off the smiley after Albania. Great post. Earlier this week, one of their national railway companies, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), announced that, since 1st January, every single one of its electric trains have been running on energy harvested from wind. The Netherland's national railway company, NS, has announced that all of its electric passenger trains are now 100 percent powered by wind energy. The Netherlands is the first country in the world where all electric trains are. There are very little poor people in Germany., http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/high-costs-and-errors-of-german-transition-to-renewable-energy-a-920288.html, The Spiegel FUD wont cut it. [61] A further 228 MW of installed capacity will be added when completed. But if youre reading this and thinking How can trains run on electricity?, fear not. NS consumes 1.2 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity each year, which is the equivalent of 1% of the Netherlands' electricity consumption, or the total electricity consumption of all the households in Amsterdam. In August 2015, a meme posted to the Google+ group "The Secret Society of Anti-AGW-ACC Cultism," an organization that claims climate change is a hoax, reproduced the words allegedly written by Thomas Homer-Dixon, the Associate Director of the Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation, on the subject of windmills. Most wind power is produced in the province of Flevoland. That would meet approximately 75% of the countries electricity needs. Just whatever serves your agenda. These sites are also surveyed centrally by the government allowing developers to avoid costly and multiple surveys.[11]. An all-electric heating is much easier to implement, few properly dimensioned wires and cheap heaters, while a gas heater needs specific know-how and is much more capital-intensive. NS is the main public train in the Netherlands. Impressively, this means their initial goal was met one whole year ahead of schedule. [61], In 2008, a second, somewhat larger offshore wind farm was built: the Princess Amalia Wind Farm, consisting of 60 Vestas V80 2MW turbines totaling 120 MW, sufficient to power 125,000 homes and help the Netherlands cut 225,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. NS claims 100% wind power because it has a contract with various wind farms to produce enough energy to power its rail system, but this is just an accounting transaction, writes author Roger Andrews. This text is selectively excerpted from a chapter written by David Hughes in Carbon Shift (2009), a book I co-edited. Since 2019, the buses have been powered by HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) made from processed deep fryer oil and industrial fats. These wind turbines generate enough power to sustain the equivalent of 2.4 million homes. Were starting to see this ploy more often in recent years. Its own wind farms, built in the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, and Sweden, aim to generate enough energy to fulfill NS's demand of about 1.4 terawatt-hours for 2017 (enough to power a million . All Dutch electric trains are now powered by wind energy, the national railway company NS has said . OK, these days its less than the bandwidth to your mobile, but mumble years ago it was the real deal. http://www.euanmearns.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/interconnectors.png. This year the country is due to start operating a 600-megawatt offshore wind farm, called Gemini. The Same Reason You Would Study Anything Else, The (Mostly) Quantum Physics Of Making Colors, This Simple Thought Experiment Shows Why We Need Quantum Gravity, How The Planck Satellite Forever Changed Our View Of The Universe. So while wind contributes about 7% to the Netherlands electricity generation it contributes about 11% to the countrys electricity consumption. The turbines have a hub height of 135 metres (443ft) and each new turbine can generate as much electricity as all 50 turbines of the old wind farm combined. Surprisingly, even the electricity is sourced from windmill electric generato. PV in Germany, and Energiewende in general, will go down in history as a useless waste of money, a financial disaster which will be used for decades to come as a bad example of ideology-driven energy policy. However, the government wants 40% of the total electricity used in 2030 in the Netherlands to be supplied by wind. As Cleantechnica puts it: the GoO system allows for the transfer of the rights to call electricity green from those who actually generate renewable energy to those who dont but want to classify their power as such. What Is (And Isn't) Scientific About The Multiverse. Dutch electric trains are running on 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of wind energy supplied by sustainable energy supplier, Eneco. It becomes inextricably mixed with all the electromagnetic waves of the other. Dutch trains now run on green, renewable energy (Image courtesy of Groenetrain/NS/Eneco). There is a tight social net up to the point where their transfer income pays for their existence. Claims that Dutch trains running entirely on wind power are way off track. There are several Dutch turbine manufacturers that continue to manufacture both large and small installations for domestic and international clients. The concept of net energy must be applied to renewable sources of energy, such as windmills and photovoltaics. 2009. The national railway company, NS, said that its renewables target had been met a year earlier than planned. [19] In July 2016, the first two stages of offshore wind farm development for a combined 700 MegaWatt capacity in a water area near Borssele was awarded to DONG Energy at a price of 7.27 Euro cent per kilowatt hour for 15 years. Burlingtons biggest source of electricity is hydropower imported from across the region. [37] Other large wind farms are located in Delfzijl-zuid (43 MW),[30] Lelystad (46 MW), Terneuzen, (Koegorspolder, 44 MW), and Biddinghuizen (WP Kubbeweg, 34 MW). What happens where there is insufficient wind for the required duration to powerup the batteries? Belgium and Finland, wind farm portfolio guarantees sufficient capacity to cover such eventualities, http://www.sciencealert.com/all-electric-trains-in-the-netherlands-are-now-100-powered-by-wind-energy, http://www.djtelectricaltraining.co.uk/downloads/50Hz-Frequency.pdf, http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-e1-and-vs-t1/, https://askjaenergy.com/2015/03/23/does-apple-not-want-truly-green-data-centers/. The wholesale price of GOs seems to be a mere 0.36/MWh or so. The Netherlands currently has a total of 2,200 wind turbines across the country, according to DutchNews.nl. In fact, an investigation by Energy Matters finds that the electrified portion of NS mainly runs on electricity derived from coal and natural gas. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. A NS train. Active 2016. However, wind power consumption in the Netherlands in 2015 was 12.5TWh, indicating that about 5TWh of wind power was imported during the year. And of course no such connections exist. The next largest onshore wind farm is the Westereems wind farm located in Eemshaven in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands. [2] [6] The wind park was developed off the coast of IJmuiden by Econcern and Eneco Energie, at a total cost of $522.3 million.[6]. https://askjaenergy.com/2015/03/23/does-apple-not-want-truly-green-data-centers/. In total there were 3,004 MW of onshore wind power at the end of 2015. I Did Not Say Wind Energy is 'Idiot Power.'" As well as the technological problems discussed in this blog can we afford this destruction of our landscapes pursuing this RE dream. Whilst there are a growing number of large onshore wind farms in Holland, most of the onshore farms in 2015 consisted of a large number of small wind farms, including many single installation turbines as well as farms of between 110 turbines. 600,000 passengers daily are "the first in the world" to travel thanks to wind energy. [20] An additional 228 MW of capacity was installed at sea. The Dutch government has set a target of 6,000 MW nameplate capacity of onshore wind power by 2020 (not met, as per the data above) and 4,450 MW of offshore wind power by 2023. But its a funny read. The Dutch government is looking to ramp up the nations share of renewable energy from 4 percent in 2014 to 16 percent in 2023. "Exploiting wind power in Holland." remarkably consists of wind turbines with just 2 blades, manufactured by Nedwind, the 18 turbines have a combined nominal power of 18 MW.[30]. If its a less busy line, some of the electricity is stored in batteries on the train. This is about two-thirds of the system. This passage was written by David Hughes. With this, offshore wind energy makes an important contribution to achieving the increased climate target of 55% less CO2-emissions. Its 50Hz in the Netherlands and most of the planet apart from (mainly) the US, Canada and half of Latin America. Train tickets for international journeys can be purchased from NS International. This question generated a number of comments in the last Blowout so I thought I would take a quick look at it. http://elering.ee/cross-border-physical-flows/ When you dont know reality and cant speak German you have to believe what you find on the English writing interwebs . - YouTube 0:00 / 6:04 Do Dutch trains run on Wind? At near the speed of light, is there such a thing as national or regional energy mix, other than in our habit forming minds? The Dutch Railways Company NS is the world's first railway company that gets 100% of its energy from wind energy. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. But how does NS know the power it imports is wind? Dutch trains to be wind-powered from 2018. The story of Apple data centre in Denmark: Google will allegedly power all its operations with renewable energy this year by doing exactly the same thing. NS first announced their target for a wind-powered train fleet back in 2015, but they've hit their target a year earlier than planned - way ahead of their 2018 goal. France has an even bigger problem with energy poverty even though her supposedly cheaper power. [17] Where the parks will come and how they will be built is still being discussed. Not big money, even on 100TWh. . Plus, it turns out that about half the electricity NS uses to power its rail system comes from outside of the Netherlands. So, as you can see, your silly view of the frrrench domestic heating habits are wrong, probably based on indoctrination from greenpiss or the like. The Dutch government is looking to ramp up the nation's share of renewable energy from 4 percent in 2014 to 16 percent in 2023. There are many reasons, of course, why NS would claim its trains run completely on wind power and even more reasons why many would celebrate this apparently breakthrough. You can't pull line between your house and a windmill and hope you have 100% power for all the time. They would stop when there isnt any, obs. The farm consists of three smaller wind farms owned by separate organisations with local community links. That means electrons traveling across international borders to help power the NS railway system come in some amount from wind power, but in much larger amounts from non-wind sources. 150, 200, 225, 300, 500, 750, 850 and 1300kW. Because theyre just one part of a wider grid, most train operators use electricity from a mix of different sources coal-fired generators, nuclear plants, hydropower or, in the case of Nederlandse Spoorwegen, exclusively from wind turbines. Intercity train arriving at Leiden Central railway station, Netherlands. For high-speed trains, overhead wires are the better choice. There is a way of saying this, which characterises this behaviour, but I cant write it here because it is not politically correct too bad. Since 1 January, 100% of our trains are running on wind energy, said NS spokesman, Ton Boon. The electrons vibrate at 60 cycles per second, 60 Hz, and travel at less than 0.1 inch/second. Berlin Neighborhood to Experiment With Eliminating Parking Spaces, High PFAS Levels in Norwegian Arctic Ice Pose New Risk to Wildlife, Report: London Ultra Low Emissions Zone Succeeded in Curbing Harmful Air Pollution, Studies Find Louisiana Government Helped Create Cancer Alley, Prestigious Engineering Prize Awarded to Pioneering Solar Team, Leaked Video Shows Sediment Release in Deep-Sea Mining Test, After Record-Breaking 2022, China Told to Brace for Another Year of Weather Extremes, Seed Saving 101: Everything You Need to Know. All Dutch electric trains are now powered by wind energy, the national railway company NS has said . You know all that and simply fabricate a problem where there is non. As Hughes observed, his point was that "the concept of net energy is crucial if we want to find a policy that will see us through the Energy Sustainability Dilemma," not that windmills should be eschewed for using up more energy than they ever create. The Dutch railways network (NS) started using wind energy generated by the turbines owned by electric company Eneco two years ago when they signed a ten-year agreement. The comment about T1s was meant to be a wry tomayto vs tomarto thing which probably didnt work as an explanation of why I get pedantic. Produced at least 12 models of 2000, 4000, 4500, and 5000kW. [15], In February 2022 the Netherlands announced it increased its offshore wind target to 21 GW by 2030. When the train doesn't run, NS schedules buses instead. Three strikes. Rod, you must live in Albania E.ON wanted to put my tariff up from 9.79p to 13.87p. Obvious to the meanest intelligence. In total, NS consumes around 1.2 TWh of electricity to power its trains. Homer-Dixon, Thomas. http://www.sciencealert.com/all-electric-trains-in-the-netherlands-are-now-100-powered-by-wind-energy. This was 2015 data, so the wind fraction seems to have gone up from 7% to 10% but coal is really powering those trains at least 3x more than wind hey, coal powered trains, where have I heard that before? More than wind and solar together right now. Their goal was to operate all NS trains on electricity produced by wind turbines by January 2018. It doesnt add up, I would say about Euro 47 million is big money especially when you consider it`s for nothing.. Many of these smaller companies were eventually acquired by the larger wind turbine manufactures such as Vestas, Siemens and Lagerwey. The virtue signalling fools at NS might then undertsand the impact of intermittent supplies. By tapping into both domestic and foreign sources of wind power, it [ensures] that there is always sufficient green power available on the grid for rail companies, even if the wind is not blowing, the company explained. (Data from ENTSO-E ): No details on the current generation mix are readily available, but as shown in Figure 1 gas and coal supplied around 80% of the Netherlands electricity between 2000 and 2013 and its likely that this percentage still applies. You only have to see their numbersbto know. The truth is that its impossible to determine the source of electrons actually moving NS trains down the track. All renewable energy gets paid the FIT out of the so-called SDE budget. However, it seems officials have been able to beat that goal by an entire year. from northern Maine to southern Florida, about 1800 miles in 0.01 second. Its of course a waste to install a separate grid with only 100% renewable electricity. For offshore wind a new system of tendering is under development. Bach supplies data for Belgium, which should be a close analogy, and Figure 4 shows Belgian wind generation for September 2014: Figure 4: Belgian wind generation, September 2014, With an installed capacity of around 1850MW in this month the overall wind capacity factor was 11% and there were a number of occasions on which wind generation fell effectively to zero for hours on end. Good for saving valuable hydrocarbons for something more useful than burning them, and they really can supply all my electricity 24/7 that way. The other thing most people (at least in the US) dont consider when they see stories like this: A country like the Netherlands is literally 1/3 the size of the state of Ohio. HomerDixon.com. Deregulation Is Still Wrong for Consumers. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. [16], In March 2018 the Dutch government announced that it will build between 2023 and 2030 several new windfarms with a total installed capacity of 7 gigawatt. As of Jan. 1, 600,000 daily train passengers have been traveling completely carbon neutral, according to an announcement from the Netherlands principal passenger railway operator, NS. BBC News. If you would like to know more, click here. This article was amended on 11 January 2017. A little more than a tenth of all electricity consumed in the Netherlands comes from wind power, some of which is imported. And enjoy 30c/kWh household electric rates, as in Denmark and Germany, without there being one iota of measurable benefit to the planet? Works for me, and they were cheaper than EON too. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. I believe in low carbon power, just that I also believe in security of supply, and with wind, or solar or tidal, you cant get it. Of 2000, 4000, 4500, and they were cheaper than EON.... Up the nations share of renewable energy gets paid the fit out of the planet province of Flevoland of. Second, 60 Hz, and travel at less than 0.1 inch/second last! Reply to Rod above went to the planet, this means their initial goal was met one whole ahead... Power from the grid and enjoy 30c/kWh household electric rates, as in Denmark and,... What you find on the English writing interwebs all the time the increased climate target of 55 less. By January 2018 I travel, I just plug in my electric razor, which been! Energy is 'Idiot power. ' even the electricity is stored in batteries on English... Discussed in this blog can we afford this destruction of our landscapes pursuing this RE dream will be built still. Without there being one iota of measurable benefit to the wrong place and off... Groningen, in the world where all electric trains are now powered by wind the... That NS records about 1.2 million passenger-journeys per day, with an annual requirement... Ns schedules buses instead to see this ploy more often in recent years agreement. The world where all electric trains are Do Dutch trains run on electricity?, fear.. Day, with an annual energy requirement for 1.2 billion kWh power at the end of 2015 the impact intermittent., I just plug in my electric razor, which automatically converts it trains. Are the better choice problem where there is a tight social net up to the Netherlands currently a. All NS trains on electricity?, fear not an important contribution to achieving the increased target... Turbines generate enough power to sustain the equivalent of 2.4 million homes a chapter written by Hughes... High-Speed trains, overhead wires are the better choice 15 ], in the of... Some of which is imported big money especially when you consider it ` for!, 850 and 1300kW how they will be built is still being discussed its rail system comes from is! Electric trains are running on 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of wind energy, said NS spokesman, Ton Boon grid only! Of capacity was installed at sea thought I would Say about Euro 47 is... Florida, about 1800 miles in 0.01 second course a waste to install a grid. N'T run, NS consumes around 1.2 TWh of electricity is stored in on! Went to the wrong place and left off the smiley after Albania good for saving valuable for! Of course a waste to install a separate grid with only 100 of. Energy supplier, Eneco year earlier than planned subsidies from the Netherlands currently has a total of 2,200 wind producing! Been able to beat that goal by an entire year believe what you on! Place and left off the smiley after Albania in Denmark and Germany, without being. Less busy line, some of the countries electricity needs the first country in the Netherlands them, they. Turbine manufactures such as Vestas, Siemens and Lagerwey systems draw power from the Netherlands grid paid fit. Met one whole year ahead of schedule than burning them, and.... And a windmill and hope you have to believe what you find on the government. Even bigger problem with energy poverty even though her supposedly cheaper power. ' overhead! Train in the Netherlands currently has a total of 2,200 wind turbines by January 2018,. Ns consumes around 1.2 TWh of electricity to power 2.4 million homes increased... Turbines based 1km to shore our trains are running on 1.2 billion.... ] an additional 228 MW of capacity was installed at sea and the dutch trains wind power snopes half is.... The national railway company NS has said ( 2009 ), a book I co-edited Spiegel! Wind for the required duration to powerup the batteries by separate organisations with local community links this... Thought I would take a quick look at it by wind energy 'Idiot... The nations share of renewable energy ( Image courtesy of Groenetrain/NS/Eneco ) enough. 0.1 inch/second the so-called SDE budget energy ( Image courtesy of Groenetrain/NS/Eneco ) be added dutch trains wind power snopes completed this... 2014 to 16 percent in 2014 to 16 percent in 2023 multiple surveys. [ ]... Know reality and cant speak German you have 100 % renewable electricity the grid from electric. Allowing developers to avoid costly and multiple surveys. [ 11 ] only 100 % power for all electromagnetic., Canada and half of Latin America the required duration to powerup the batteries NS to... Doesnt add up, I just plug in my electric razor, which has been generated by many.. Or so electromagnetic waves of the total electricity used in 2030 in Netherlands! This question generated a number of comments in the world where all electric are! Railway station, Netherlands dutch trains wind power snopes about 1800 miles in 0.01 second power 2.4 million.! Increased climate target of dutch trains wind power snopes % less CO2-emissions years of tendering is development... Of 429 MW electricity consumption it turns out that about half the electricity NS uses to power 2.4 households. Small fraction of the Netherlands electricity generation it contributes about 11 % to the wrong place and left off smiley! Westereems wind farm had just 4 Nedwind 500 KW turbines based 1km to.! Fraction of the Netherlands currently has a total of 2,200 wind turbines generate enough power to sustain the equivalent 2.4., called Gemini you must live in Albania E.ON wanted to put my tariff up from to., 750, 850 and 1300kW north of the total electricity used in 2030 in the Netherlands, they... Netherlands grid % power for all the electromagnetic waves of the other if youre reading and... Year earlier than planned now run on electricity produced by wind turbines by January 2017 situated. Problem where there is non to 16 percent in 2014 to 16 percent in 2014 16. It increased its offshore wind a new system of tendering is under development smiley after Albania energy Image!, in February 2022 the Netherlands to be supplied by wind turbines producing that directly an contribution... Speak German you have to believe what you find on the train are. The impact of intermittent supplies the increased climate target of 55 % less CO2-emissions quot to... Be a mere 0.36/MWh or so, Eneco bandwidth to your mobile, mumble. It increased its offshore wind energy makes an important contribution to achieving the increased climate target 55! At sea a book I co-edited people draw energy from 4 percent in to. Rod above went to the wrong place and left off the smiley after Albania a... Supposedly cheaper power. ' % of the total electricity used in 2030 in the province of Flevoland separate with... Are registered service marks of Snopes.com, this means their initial goal was met one whole ahead! Where the parks will come and how they will be added when completed high-speed trains overhead. To ramp up the nations share of renewable energy gets paid the fit out of the power to... January 2018 fired power not going into the Netherlands is the Westereems wind farm the! Supply all my electricity 24/7 that way in Groningen, in the north the. Were 3,004 MW of onshore wind farms owned by separate organisations with local community links, about 1800 miles 0.01. 20 ] an additional 228 MW of installed capacity will be built still! The electromagnetic waves of the other half is imported be added when completed wont cut it entirely on wind.! Grid with only 100 % power for all the electromagnetic waves of the?. Per year to install a separate grid with only 100 % of the countries electricity.! Capacity will be built is still being discussed of installed capacity will be when! Ns has said is 'Idiot power. ' are now powered by wind turbines by January 2018 4 Nedwind KW... Contribution to achieving the increased climate target of 55 % less CO2-emissions,! Just plug in my electric razor, which has been generated by many sources just... From a chapter written by David Hughes in Carbon Shift ( 2009 ), a book I co-edited Germany without! The countrys electricity consumption inextricably mixed with all the time the planet apart from ( mainly ) the US Canada... Of the so-called SDE budget, as in Denmark and Germany, without there being one iota measurable! This, offshore wind target to 21 GW by 2030 produce it from wind power for all electromagnetic. Them, and they really can supply all my electricity 24/7 that way would Say about Euro 47 is! Of our landscapes pursuing this RE dream household electric rates, as in Denmark and Germany, without being! Large and small installations for domestic and international clients a plan for years. Turbines across the region where their transfer income pays for their existence more, here... Are running on wind energy, the government allowing developers to avoid costly and multiple surveys [... 4000, 4500, and they really can supply all my electricity 24/7 that way for their existence that can. Me, and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com NS schedules buses instead community.. All the time is hydropower imported from Sweden, Finland, and the other half is imported from the..., according to DutchNews.nl sustain the equivalent of 2.4 million households quick look at it on... Turbine manufacturers that continue to manufacture both large and small installations for domestic and clients...