Organisations representing Dutch industry, employers and the sustainable energy sector have slated the decision by the outgoing cabinet to scale back plans to build wind turbines in the North Sea over the next 15 years.
The move is “a bad signal”, Nienke Homan, chairwoman of the chemical industry organisation VNCI, told broadcaster NOS. “We need sustainable energy to realise climate ambitions. Businesses also need sustainable energy to become more sustainable,” she said.
Climate minister Sophie Hermans said the use of green energy is not increasing fast enough because industry is too slow to transition, but this position does not hold water, Homan said.
“You could say demand is not big enough but businesses need affordable energy. More availability will make sustainable energy cheaper,” she said.
A spokesman for VNO-NCW said the employers’ organisation is “not in favour of adjusting wind energy goals. If anything, the availability of sustainable energy, including wind energy, should grow,” he said. The organisation also stressed lower cost in the longer term and “energy independence in times of geopolitical unrest”.
Current targets call for 50 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2040, but Hermans now aims for at least 30 GW, with the possibility of expanding to 40 GW if supporting infrastructure is built.
Chicken-and-egg situation
“It’s a great shame that the energy transition is stalling in industry, sasid Olof van der Gaag, chairman of the sustainable energy sector organisation NVDE.
“It means Dutch industry will continue to depend on fossil fuels from abroad and chimneys spewing polluting emissions. It’s a chicken-and-egg situation and it’s up to the government to take the first step and break the deadlock,” he said.
Van der Gaag cited the example of green steel, which, if demand is great enough, will make production worthwhile. “Once it is produced, manufacturers will need wind energy. To make Tata Steel green, you need about 400 offshore turbines,” he said.
MPs’ opinions are divided, with BBB MP Henk Vermeer saying Hermans’ decision is “a logical one” given the developments in energy transition and the economy”.
“Much of our electricity is exported because use does not tally with expectations,” he said. “That means even higher network costs for consumers while the revenue goes abroad, while investments stall or move abroad.”
GroenLinks-PvdA MP Suzanne Kröger called the decision “shortsighted and disastrous” for the climate, energy security and the future of Dutch manufacturing”.
“Now is the time to invest in clean, affordable energy produced at home. By scaling down the energy plans for the North Sea, the minister is jeopardising the climate goals even more and making the country dependent on foreign fossil fuel imports. This is not vision, it’s regression,” she said.
