Monday 18 October 2021

‘Netherlands to phase out coal by 2030’

The Netherlands is set to phase out coal power by 2030.

That’s according to GlobalData, which has stated the country’s coal power capacity is set to drop from last year’s 3.31GW to 3.18GW in 2025 and be phased out altogether by 2030.

It cites the Dutch government’s minimum carbon price floor, which was introduced in 2020 but delayed due to the pandemic, as a key help in achieving this milestone.

This price floor will see the price of carbon increase from around £10 per tonne to close to £27 by the end of this decade. For industrial installations this jump is even more significant – from around £25 to £106 by 2030.

Dutch thermal power generation is projected to decline to 32.9% in 2030 from 70.4% of annual generation in 2020.

Rohit Ravetkar, Power Analyst at GlobalData, explained: “The Dutch government’s ban on coal power generation follows its efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions by 49% by the end of 2030, as compared to 1990 levels.

“The minimum carbon price floor announced by the government will discourage the use of fossil fuels for power generation.

“By heavily penalising the greenhouse gas emitters, the carbon price floor will result in increased adoption of renewables. The carbon price floor was introduced in the UK in 2013 and resulted in significant growth for the renewable sector. A similar result is expected in the Netherlands.

“One requirement of the government’s ban is that coal-based power plants have to switch to alternate fuels such as sustainable biopower.

“Coal power plant owners are expected to spend a significant amount to retrofit their plants for switching to biopower. This will result in biopower capacity increasing from 1.21GW in 2020 to 3.11GW in 2030.”