Bioenergy Status Document 2010 [UK-NL]

Growth of bioenergy in the Netherlands
NL Agency concludes in the 2010 Bioenergy Status Document that renewable energy is continuing its advance. A total of 75 percent of renewable energy comes from biomass. Last year, a further 20 bioenergy plants were taken into production in the Netherlands. In 2010, a total of 68 PJ was produced by means of bioenergy. This equates to replacing the domestic consumption of natural gas of around 1.3 million families.

Thanks to government incentive programmes, NL Agency detects sharp rises in the production of bioelectricity and biogas and the use of biomass in the transport sector. The average share of renewable energy in 2009 and 2010 was 3.9 percent. This means progress in terms of achieving the target of 14 percent of renewable energy in 2020.

Noticeable development
The production of green gas has seen a strong development in the past period, partly as a result of the inclusion of green gas in the Energy Production Incentive Scheme (SDE). Green gas produced from biogas is fed into the existing natural gas mains and transported to the end users. In 2010, the annual production capacity of all green gas production locations grew from approximately 16 million cubic metres to a total of 37 million cubic metres.

Processing of biomass
By pre-treating biomass (such as wood), it is easier to transport and use in plants. In 2010, the Netherlands became leader in one of these processing technologies, so-called torrefaction. In 2011, Dutch production capacity of torrefied wood is expected to exceed 100,000 tons/year.