Plus, it turns out that about half the electricity NS uses to power its rail system comes from outside of the Netherlands. I paid 1100 Euros/year for a 150 m2 house, at 1000 m altitude on the French alps, heating, hot water, everything included. In late 2015, the Dutch government announced its goal to power the country's electric trains entirely with wind power by 2018. I am surrounded by almost 3000 MWs of hydro power in my county alone, but because of these guarantees of origin my supposed consumption is very dirty, consisting mostly of a central European mix of coal, natural gas, nuclear with some renewables added. Eneco has made a point . See the table below for the current situation. Web. NS has signed a contract with Eneco to guarantee the supply of this electricity. 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. Even the two Dutch wind farms with which NS contracts directly for wind power, Noordoostpolder and Luchterduinen, are tied generally to the Dutch grid and not tied directly into the NS rail system. In contrast to onshore wind farms, almost all turbines by January 2017 were situated in just a few large wind farms. Companies that want to claim that they run on green energy then just have to buy enough GoOs to cover their energy demand. According to Railway Technology because it has a: green energy contract thought to be among the largest yet signed in Europe between power supplier Eneco and VIVENS, an energy procurement joint venture comprising Netherlands Railways (NS), Veolia, Arriva, Connexxion and rail freight firms, and because, NS and Eneco have carefully selected a list of wind farms that fulfil their criteria of being traceable, sustainable or renewable and additional, or new, and because, This partnership ensures that new investments can be made in even newer wind farms, which will increase the share of renewable energy. The point about this is that it is just PR. Just fit smart controls where their systems draw power from the grid. French people are bricoleurs they like to build their own house, thanks to the fact that if it has a surface below 175 m2 you dont need to go through an architect, you can do your own building plan. 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. How much wind? World-famous for their picturesque windmills, the Netherlands has always had a love affair with wind energy. Many of these smaller companies were eventually acquired by the larger wind turbine manufactures such as Vestas, Siemens and Lagerwey. Ive included a (slightly-edited) mini-excerpt from my recent book, Science and the City, to explain: Electric locomotives dont have conventional engines. The Dutch rail network will run entirely on renewable wind energy by 2018 under a new contract signed by power company Eneco and energy procurement cooperative VIVENS. This is the cause of the very bright, blue-white spark you sometimes see near the third rail, as well as flickering carriage lights. However, it seems officials have been able to beat that goal by an entire year. 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. The Nuclear Humanist 1.75K subscribers 40 Dislike Share 814 views Jul 23, 2017 The Dutch Railway Corporation. This article was amended on 11 January 2017. Google will allegedly power all its operations with renewable energy this year by doing exactly the same thing. Whats the trick? Sign up for our email newsletter! Smaller turbines are often used for off grid, bespoke and community power internationally. Probably not. 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. The third that by purchasing wind power that would otherwise have gone elsewhere NS is leaving the door open for more wind projects and more CO2 reductions is the only one that offers any tangible benefits. NS and Eneco first announced their plan of a wind-powered railway in 2015 in order to drastically slash train ride emissions. By Adele Peters 1 minute Read A single. When challenged on its claim, NS clarified that only the electrified portion of its system runs completely on wind power. RE fans should understand that present mainstream RE technologies ( mostly PV and wind) require considerable real estate and in our small island one cannot travel very far without having a wind farm in view. Updated [5 February 2019]: Original version of this article attributed this quote to Thomas Homer-Dixon. 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. [15], In February 2022 the Netherlands announced it increased its offshore wind target to 21 GW by 2030. The headline: Netherlands Trains Now Running on 100% Wind Power. However the electricity is delivered to the train, once its there, it is used to power lights, and air-conditioning, as well as the traction motors, which are what turn the trains wheels. ) can ever bring them off balance They dont understand, but they believe ! You only have to see their numbersbto know. These systems are found on underground trains in Los Angeles, Auckland and Buenos Aires, among others. The city also gets about a third of its power from a large biomass plant. Why cant, errr sorry, why Dont you? Still don't like the disingenious advertisement thought. And no facts will ever get in the way of a true believer . Apparently Eneco can make the wind blow to order.). With wind power usage in 2015 equal to 12.5 billion kWh, Dutch demand for wind power amply exceeds supply. EDF was 13.44p but I keep reading comments about how RE fans should take electricity only from PV and wind turbines, so I decided I should do the same. Its 50Hz in the Netherlands and most of the planet apart from (mainly) the US, Canada and half of Latin America. So while wind contributes about 7% to the Netherlands electricity generation it contributes about 11% to the countrys electricity consumption. What Is (And Isn't) Scientific About The Multiverse. Offsets. A little more than a tenth of all electricity consumed in the Netherlands comes from wind power, some of which is imported. More than 12% of the Netherland's electricity is generated from renewable sources, mainly biomass and waste (5% of the total) and wind (7% of the total). The T1 standard relates to telecommunications. The 129 MW Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm is located 23km off the coast between Zandvoort and Noordwijk cities in the Netherlands. According to a government web page ( now removed!) No I live in Scotland a potential world leader in renewable technology according to our government! 90/month for the typical 3 person household. However, this quotation, which comes from an essay written by earth scientist David Hughes, was cherry-picked and presented out of context to create a deliberately misleading version of what the author actually said. But of course even two-thirds of the NS system doesnt run completely on wind power. Produced at least 14 models of 100. They would stop when there isnt any, obs. If a energy supply company contracts with a renewable provider ( I am not including nuclear sources) would it be based on the installed power of the wind farms or a capacity factor adjusted power capabilities? Same thing if you got solar panels on your house. (Figure 2: Note the dotted lines showing non-electrified track. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. First some details on the Netherlands electricity sector. Heating with electricity is their homemade problem that escalates bills for the poor with no alternative. I live in France since 20 years, have almost always used electricity to heat my house and always saved money with respect to the neighbours who used other means. from northern Maine to southern Florida, about 1800 miles in 0.01 second. Conductor rails carry lower voltages than overhead wires, although low is a relative concept. Julian Turner gets the inside track on the unique collaboration from Michel Kerkhof, account manager at Eneco. However, everyone must have a contract to be authorized to draw energy from the grid; otherwise it would be stealing. This type of fuel is considered to be climate-neutral, as it does not cause CO2 emissions. Rather they act like a component in an electric circuit. This energy is directly traceable to individual wind farms, because we use the GVO European Certification System. Passing through the gates without traveling, Forgetting to check in or out and requesting refunds, Sustainable accessibility of the Netherlands, More information about NS buses that run on HVO. One windmill running for an hour can power a train for 120 miles, the companies said. [20] A few of the larger wind farms are listed here. What is SDE? Consumers in NL can choose suppliers that deliver 100% renewable, or 100% wind, or 100% dutch generated wind, etc. 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. But its a funny read. The trains cant run as advertised on weak and intermittent wind power, and there is only one plug on the wall. Sign up for our email newsletter! 600,000 passengers daily are "the first in the world" to travel thanks to wind energy. Surprisingly, even the electricity is sourced from windmill electric generato. It is 100% powered by electric. How Sustainable and Ethical Is the Tuna at Your Supermarket? Since 1 January, 100% of our trains are running on wind energy, said NS spokesman, Ton Boon. The Netherlands is the first country in the world where all electric trains are. These newer and larger wind farms are making use of some of the largest wind turbines available, in particular in the case of Noordoostpolder the Enercon E-126 7500kW wind turbine, the largest onshore turbine available at that time. The clip is in Dutch so set the captions to translate if you do not speak the language. If you want to be generous to NS, you can say that the BritNed interconnector is definitely being fed by the coal fired Maasvlakte power stations when it is delivering 1GW to the UK, because theyre right next door to the HVDC converters. These. Dutch electric trains are running on 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of wind energy supplied by sustainable energy supplier, Eneco. Green energy for train, bus and station In 2017, our trains in the Netherlands became the first in the world to run for 100% on wind energy, giving travellers the option of travelling without CO2 emissions. However, wind power consumption in the Netherlands in 2015 was 12.5TWh, indicating that about 5TWh of wind power was imported during the year. Supply from all generators is monitored in any case, all youd have to do is add up the Under this system the government chooses locations and organizes tenders for projects of 350 MW, and project developers can offer bids for each farm. Produced at least 12 models of 2000, 4000, 4500, and 5000kW. Often only 100% renewable utilities are allowed to participate in the auctions. The electrons vibrate at 60 cycles per second, 60 Hz, and travel at less than 0.1 inch/second. The problem with the high costs for heating in France is the really poor quality of the dwellings, their poor insulating and cheap quality whatever means of heating one uses its literally money thrown away. I see the logic behind the options for supply that can be taken, but how can any householder take a contract for 100% wind power when often this is not available, certainly if a large number opt for green power. Dutch electricity company Eneco won a tender offered by NS two years ago and the two companies signed a 10-year deal setting January 2018 as the date by which all NS trains should run on wind energy. Claims that Dutch trains running entirely on wind power are way off track. But lets be real. As of the first of January this year, all public transport trains are being powered by renewable energy, namely from wind power. 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 . [18], In the first week of December 2016, all 150 turbines of the new 600 MW Gemini offshore windfarm began producing power, and the project is expected to be fully commissioned by mid 2017. So, the fact that they can now reliably produce it from wind is big news. This passage was written by David Hughes. The historical land of windmills is leading the charge in wind energy development. Whats the trick? 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. Only a small fraction of the power delivered to its trains actually comes from wind.. 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