District Energy in the Netherlands

Although the first district heating system in the Netherlands was started in Utrecht in 1923, exactly 300 years earlier the famous Dutch inventor Cornelius Drebbel proposed a district heating system in London so that every householder there could heat their houses and cook their food without burning wood or coal. From this early attempt to clean the air of a smoky city, great strides have been made in district energy, and the Netherlands has seen much activity in this field.

District energy statistics (1993)

District heating companies - 15
CHP plants - 39
Heating plants - 125
Maximum heat output capacity - 3.5 GW
Heat delivered to pipelines - 15.3 PJ
Heat delivered with power production - 14.3 PJ
Heat taken by consumers - 12.1 PJ
Total length of pipeline system - 2,010 km
Heat delivered/pipeline length - 7.6 TJ/km

Report on District Heating in the Netherlands
Report on Political and economical situation of district heat in the Netherlands
Power Projects B.V. report on district heating in the Netherlands [Contributed by Rosli Mohamed, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia]

District Energy Systems

Almere
Bergen op Zoom
Purmerend
Roosendaal
Den Haag
Rotterdam
Utrecht
Nieuwe Gein
Enschede
Breda
Helmond
Tilburg
Geertruidenberg
Amsterdam
Lelystad
Den Bosch
Heerlen
Almelo
Leiden
Leeuwarden
Oosterhour
Arnhem
Duiven
Westervoort
Deventer
Harderwijk
Asten
Capelle aan den Ijssel
Made
Maastricht
Warmte/krachtkoppeling bij de Hogeschool Eindhoven Rachelsmolen 1. (in Dutch)

District Energy Publications

Problems, Solutions and Growth of Combined Heat and Power in the Netherlands, by Gerrit Jan Schaeffer and Audré Struker.

District Energy Associations

EnergieNed, Netherlands Association of Energy Distributing Companies
NOVEM, Netherlands Agency for Energy and Environment
Projektbureau Warmte/Kracht, Agency for the Promotion of Cogeneration

World Wide Web Virtual Library for District Energy

Maintained by: Morris A. Pierce
Last updated 17 November 1996.