Renewable electricity; production and capacity

Renewable electricity; production and capacity

Energy sources / techniques Periods Production of electricity Gross production with normalisation (mln kWh) Production of electricity Production without normalisation Gross production of electricity (mln kWh) Production of electricity Production without normalisation Net production of electricity (mln kWh) Production of electricity relative Gross production with normalisation (in % of use) Production of electricity relative Production without normalisation Gross production of electricity (in % of use) Production of electricity relative Production without normalisation Net production of electricity (in % of use) Installed installations Installations installed end of year (number) Installed installations Electrical capacity end of year (megawatt)
Total renewable energy sources 2019 22,277 22,796 22,041 18.23 18.65 18.57 . .
Total renewable energy sources 2020 31,924 32,740 31,792 26.41 27.14 27.12 . .
Hydropower 2019 93 74 74 0.08 0.06 0.06 7 37
Hydropower 2020 90 46 46 0.07 0.04 0.04 7 37
Wind energy, total 2019 10,774 11,508 11,508 8.82 9.42 9.69 2,321 4,484
Wind energy, total 2020 13,949 15,278 15,278 11.54 12.66 13.03 2,612 6,648
Onshore wind energy 2019 7,429 7,935 7,935 6.08 6.49 6.68 2,032 3,527
Onshore wind energy 2020 8,962 9,794 9,794 7.41 8.12 8.36 2,150 4,188
Offshore wind energy 2019 3,345 3,573 3,573 2.74 2.92 3.01 289 957
Offshore wind energy 2020 4,987 5,484 5,484 4.13 4.55 4.68 462 2,460
Solar photovoltaic 2019 5,399 5,399 5,399 4.42 4.42 4.55 . 7,226
Solar photovoltaic 2020 8,765 8,568 8,568 7.25 7.10 7.31 . 11,108
Total biomass 2019 6,011 5,814 5,060 4.92 4.76 4.26 . .
Total biomass 2020 9,121 8,848 7,899 7.54 7.34 6.74 . .
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Dataset is not available.


This table contains information about the Dutch production of renewable electricity, the number of installations used and the installed capacity of these installations. During production, a distinction is made between normalised gross production and non-standard gross and net production without normalisation.

Production of electricity is shown in million kilowatt hours and as a percentage of total electricity consumption in the Netherlands. The production of renewable electricity is compared with total electricity consumption and not against total electricity production. This choice is due to European conventions.

The data is broken down according to the type of energy source and the technique used to obtain the electricity. A distinction is made between four main categories: hydro power, wind energy, solar power and biomass.

Data available from: 1990.

Status of the figures:
This table contains definite figures until 2021, revised provisional figures for 2022.

Changes as of March 7th 2024:
Provisional figures of 2023 have been added. The gross electricity production with normalisation (according to RED II) is not yet known for some forms of biomass for 2023. When this applies a "." is displayed.
RED II refers to the EU renewable energy directive which came into force in 2021.

Changes as of November 14th 2023:
Figures of 2021 and 2022 have been updated. The status for figures of 2021 is now definite and the status for figures of 2022 is revised provisional.
Figures of 2015-2020 have been revised in other tables on electricity. This revision has not been implemented in this table, as a result of which inconsitensies of (max) 80 GWh on a yearly basis are possible between the figures for biomass.


When will new figures be published?
Provisional figures on electricity output for the previous year are published each year in February. Revised figures on electricity output for the previous year are published each year in June. Definite figures on electricity output for the previous year are published each year in December.

Description topics

Production of electricity
Domestic production of renewable electricity in millions of kilowatt hours.
Gross production with normalisation
Gross production of renewable electricity corrected for weather conditions and including the indirect production from green gas. As of reporting year 2021, electricity production from solid and gaseous biomass used in installations above a specific power threshold will only be taken into account if the biomass used meets the new sustainability criteria as stated in the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II).

Gross production is the production including own use. Own use is the electricity that is used in electricity output.

The normalised production has been calculated according to definitions from the EU Renewable Energy Directive. The binding targets from this guideline play an important role in Dutch energy policy. The production without normalisation is the actual physical production according to definitions from the standard national and international energy statistics.

There are three differences between the normalised figures and the figures without normalisation:
1. Correction for accidental weather conditions.
2. Whether or not to include production of electricity from green gas.
3. Wheter or not to include biomass that is not compliant according to RED II.

Further explanation for 1: The normalised production in a given year is calculated as the capacity in the relevant year times the average production per unit capacity in the past five years (for wind energy) or fifteen years (for hydro-power). The production of solar power is in principle also dependent on the weather. In the EU Directive, however, it has been agreed not to apply normalisation for solar power.
Further explanation for 2: Green gas is biogas that has been upgraded to natural gas quality and injected into the natural gas network. A (small) part of the production of electricity from natural gas can thus be allocated to green gas. This allocation has been included in the normalised production of electricity; this allocation is not taken into account in production of electricity without normalisation.
Further explanation for 3: As of reporting year 2021, electricity production from solid and gaseous biomass used in installations above a specific power threshold will only be taken into account if the biomass used meets the new sustainability criteria as stated in the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II).
Production without normalisation
Production of renewable electricity-, not corrected for weather conditions and excluding the indirect production from green gas.

Green gas is biogas that has been upgraded to natural gas quality and injected into the natural gas network. A (small) part of the production of electricity from natural gas can thus be allocated to green gas. This allocation has been included in the normalised production of electricity; this allocation is not taken into account in production of electricity without normalisation.
Gross production of electricity
Gross production of electricity is the production including own use.

Own use is the electricity that is used in electricity output.
Net production of electricity
Net production of electricity is the production excluding own use.

Own use is the electricity that is used in electricity output.
Production of electricity relative
Domestic production of renewable electricity as a percentage of total domestic electricity consumption.

The production of renewable electricity is compared with total electricity consumption and not against total electricity production. This choice is due to European conventions.
Gross production with normalisation
Gross production of renewable electricity corrected for weather conditions and including the indirect production from green gas.

Gross production is the production including own use. Own use is the electricity that is used in electricity output.

The normalized production has been calculated according to definitions from the EU Renewable Energy Directive from 2009. The binding targets from this guideline play an important role in Dutch energy policy. The production without normalisation is the actual physical production according to definitions from the standard national and international energy statistics.

There are two differences between the normalized figures and the figures without normalisation:
1. Correction for accidental weather conditions
2. Whether or not to include production of electricity from green gas.

Further explanation for 1: The normalized production in a given year is calculated as the capacity in the relevant year times the average production per unit capacity in the past five years (for wind) or fifteen years (for hydro power). The production of solar power is in principle also dependent on the weather. In the EU Directive, however, it has been agreed not to apply normalization for solar power.
Further explanation for 2: Green gas is biogas that has been upgraded to natural gas quality and injected into the natural gas network. A (small) part of the production of electricity from natural gas can thus be allocated to green gas. This allocation has been included in the normalized production of electricity; this allocation is not taken into account in production of electricity without normalisation.
Production without normalisation
Production of renewable electricity, not corrected for weather conditions and excluding the indirect production from green gas.

Green gas is biogas that has been upgraded to natural gas quality and injected into the natural gas network. A (small) part of the production of electricity from natural gas can thus be allocated to green gas. This allocation has been included in the normalized production of electricity; this allocation is not taken into account in production of electricity without normalisation.
Gross production of electricity
Gross production of electricity is the production including own use.

Own use is the electricity that is used in electricity output.
Net production of electricity
Net electricity production is the production excluding own use.

Own use is the electricity that is used in electricity output.
Installed installations
Installations, installed at the end of the reporting year.
Installations installed end of year
Number of installations installed at the end of the reporting year.
Electrical capacity end of year
Electrical capacity of installations installed at the end of the reporting year.

Electrical capacity is the amount of electricity that can be generated per unit of time during normal use of all available installations that produce electricity.