News item | 04-03-2024 | 12:04
By 2050, the Netherlands will have a climate-neutral energy supply. This requires careful planning, especially because a climate-neutral energy supply requires more space than the fossil system. That is why the Main Energy Structure Program (PEH) was created. This program is the first time the total space required and its effects on society have been mapped out. It focuses on national infrastructure, such as high-voltage lines and stations, large-scale electricity production, batteries, hydrogen factories and underground hydrogen storage.
Minister Jetten, Climate and Energy: “The Netherlands is at the beginning of a major renovation of the infrastructure, especially when it comes to the energy system. We can no longer plan on top of each other project-by-project without systematic thought about this. By thinking ahead and freeing up space in a timely manner, there are more opportunities to find locations that are desirable from a social point of view. We place factories for the production of hydrogen close to places where wind energy comes from sea to land. This means that fewer cables and pipes are needed throughout the country and hydrogen production is close to the industry that will use the hydrogen.”
As an example;
- A hydrogen plant is a large installation, including an oxygen plant and a water plant. To have 4 gigawatt capacity in 2030, approximately 80 football fields are needed (40 hectares). There are scenarios where 50 gigawatts of electrolysis are predicted in 2050, i.e. 1000 football fields.
- In the near future, approximately 350 kilometers of high-voltage connections will be 380/220KV. be constructed, including dozens of electricity stations. Space is being used more and more efficiently. For example, the high-voltage stations are installed at locations where expansion is possible. Because while 20 hectares are currently needed for this, an additional 15 hectares will be needed in some places after 2030, partly because electrification requires more electricity.
- And increasing electrification requires more power stations that you can switch on and off for those moments when insufficient solar or wind energy is generated. From approximately 20 gigawatts of power now, to scenarios of a possible 33 to 36 gigawatts of power in 2050. 230 megawatts can be installed per hectare, so a total of about 150 hectares may be needed, about 300 football fields. By reusing the locations of conventional power plants, the space required is limited.
To plan all this carefully, an effect analysis has been done based on different scenarios that vary in the forms of energy that we will generate and use, and also in the space required for this. Based on these insights, the required space, opportunities and bottlenecks were identified at an early stage. How this space can be prepared for future projects has also been collected. Space for energy will guide other spatial ambitions, no longer as a final element as is often the case today. The Energy Main Structure Program will be updated every four years.