Fuels and Other Heat Sources

The following fuels are used for energy supply in The Netherlands:

natural gas, from own soil and the North Sea (most important share)
coal, imported from several countries
oil, from the North Sea and world market

The fuels used for heat production can be broken down as follows:

                       1985         1994
     natural gas        72           70
     oil                18            2
     coal                7           25
     waste incineration  3            3

District heat is mostly produced by combined heat and power plants:

    year            %
    1982            76
    1985            82
    1994 (approx.)  95

The coal is burned in large total energy power plants, providing heat for several towns. Relatively much gas is used, on the one hand because gas is an indigenous resource, on the other hand because of its ecological impact. Gas is used in gas turbines, combined steam turbines and gas turbine units, gas engines and gas-burning auxiliary boilers.

Energy Balance - 1994:

Organization of the Energy Sector