• General State of the Economy
• Energy Resources
• Energy Balance
• Energy Infrastructure
• Education and Innovation
• Ecology and Environment Protection
• References

The Netherlands is located in the north-west of mainland Europe. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the main territory, also includes the Caribbean Netherlands and the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten. The mainland is bordered by Belgium to the west and Germany to the east. The north of the country borders the North Sea.

Source: [1,2,3,4,5]

The Netherlands is the 136^th largest country in the world in terms of area, is home to more than 18 million people, as of 2025. In terms of population density the country is 26^th in the world [1,2,3]. The length of the coastline is 451 km [3]. The Netherlands is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy and its administrative map is divided into 12 provinces. The official language is Dutch [3].

Amsterdam cityscape view. Envato Elements. M8VRPKTA3Y

The Netherlands is among the ten strongest economies in the world, which is reflected in the diagram – Figure 1.
For almost all indices the Netherlands ranks higher than the world average, in the top 25% of the leading countries in the world included in the rating.

Since the early 1990s the country has experienced sustained GDP growth at purchasing power parity, both in general and per capita [4,5]. GDP at purchasing power parity increased from $945.48 billion (26^th in the world) in 2020 to $1.24 trillion in 2023 (27^th in the world) [3]. GDP at purchasing power parity per capita is somewhat higher; the dynamics of this indicator is is changeable: from $54 200 in 2020 to $69,300 in 2023 [3]. Inflation rate rose from 2.6% in 2020 (132^nd in the world) to 3.84% in 2023 [3].
The Global Competitiveness Report measures the effectiveness of the use of the country’s own resources for sustainable development. In addition to a number of economic indicators this index also takes into account such variables as education, health, level of innovation, etc.
High-technology exports in 2023 was 22% of manufactured exports. According to the Index of Economic Freedom which takes into account business freedom, freedom from government intervention, protection of property, and freedom from corruption, the Netherlands was 11^th out of 184 countries in 2024.
Fourteen Dutch companies, including the energy giant Royal Dutch Shell, are among the “Fortune 500” largest companies in the world. In addition to Royal Dutch Shell, Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (a global service provider for the storage and transportation of liquid and gaseous fuels) is also included in the Global Energy Companies rating.

The Netherlands’ position in the comparative diagram of energy index is shown in Figure 4. As previously mentioned, the Netherlands does not have significant reserves of fossil resources, therefore some indices related to oil and coal are extremely low.
 

The volume of fossil resources is many times lower than the level of consumption in the Netherlands, which contributes to the development of energy-saving technologies and renewable energy.
In terms of GDP per unit of energy use, the Netherlands was below the world average – 28^th out of 66 countries selected for consideration; however, in terms of energy use per capita it is much higher – 17^th out of 66 countries selected for consideration.
In terms of electricity consumption per capita, the country is 42^th in the world, however, for combined electricity production-consumption, the Netherlands is 108^th in the ranked list of 216 countries.

A territorial map showing the distribution of the largest infrastructure projects of the fossil-fuel sector in the Netherlands is shown in Figure 5. In the total potential of natural resources, natural gas accounted for 5%, coal for 94.2%, and oil for 0.8%. The matrix of the total potential of unconventional resources is as follows: 63.4% shale gas; and 36.6% tight oil (Fig. 5).

Figure 5. Basic Infrastructure facilities of the fossil fuel sector in the Netherlands

The main natural gas fields are concentrated on the shelf of the North Sea, in the Groningen area, and in the north of the country. In 2022 the volume of natural gas production was 20.2 % down compared to previuos year making 15.3 billion m³ with 4.6 billion m³ coming from the Groningen gas field [8]. The largest natural gas storage facility is Zuidwending, with a total volume of underground salt caves of 620 million m³ [22,23].
Gas exports are carried out via Gate (Maasvlakte) LNG terminal, owned by Gasunie and Vopak with a capacity of 12 Bcm per year [24], and internally gas is transported via a pipeline network with a total length of 14 000 km (Fig.5).
The infrastructure of natural gas processing is represented by two large plants: Balgzand in the area of the capital; and Uthulzen in the north of the country.
The main oil fields are predominantly offshore and are located in the west and northwest of the costal shelf. The largest is Amstel, owned by GDF Suez; began production in 2014 with 15 000 barrels/day. However, the production had decreased to about 0.45 million barrels of oil per year by 2022 [25].
The Dutch refineries have a total installed capacity of 1 196.6 million barrels/day (Fig. 5). The country's largest oil refinery is Pernis, owned by Shell, with an installed capacity of 416 000 barrels per day [26].
The main oil terminal and oil storage of the Netherlands is in Rotterdam, with a storage capacity of about 8 307 200 m³ [27]. Oil fields, refineries and main consumers in the country are connected by pipelines for the transportation of oil products and crude oil with a total length of 2 500 km (Fig. 5).

Aerial view of the harbour Rotterdam Pernis. Envato Elements. 2RDGK3CZ9X

The shale gas reserves in the country are 63.4%, and the reserves of tight oil are 36.6% of the total potential of unconventional resources. The main fields are located in the region of The Hague and Rotterdam.
The Netherlands is an advanced country in the field of oil and gas chemistry, and the production of various products from fossil fuels and bioresources. Thus, the Netherlands is home to enterprises for the production of dimethyl ether (DME) – Rotterdam-Europort, AkzoNobel DME Plant, capable of producing about 45 000 mt per year,; and two biomethanol plants, the largest of which is Farmsum, BioMCN Demo Biomethanol Plant which has an installed capacity of 200 000 tons/year [28,29].
A map showing the territorial distribution of the largest infrastructure facilities in the Netherlands for electricity generation is presented in Figure 6.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the share of fossil fuels in electricity production in the Netherlands in 2023 was 46,7% (Fig.6.).
The country has a significant number of stations for the production of electricity from fossil fuels, including 12 gas-fired power plants with a capacity of more than 500 MW, five coal-fired power plants with a capacity of more than 100 megawatts, and a large number of less powerful stations (Fig.6). The largest thermal power plants in the Netherlands are: gas power plant – Eems, with a total capacity of 2 400 MW [30], coal power plant – Eemshaven, with an installed capacity of 1 560 MW [31].
As already noted above, hydropower in the country does not have a significant share in the production of electricity, it is represented by three large power plants and a large number of small hydroelectric power plants, which in 2023 produced 0.07 TWh (Fig. 6). The largest hydroelectric power plant is Alphen aan de Maas with an installed capacity of 14 MW [32]. Nuclear power is represented by the Borssele station with an installed capacity of 485 MW [33].
  Figure 6. Electricity production in the Netherlands

In Figure 7, you can see the main facilities  for the production of energy from renewable sources.
As noted above, renewable energy in the Netherlands, excluding hydropower, does not have a significant influence on electricity generation. The total production of electricity from renewable sources in 2023 excluding hydropower, was about 48.27 TWh (Fig. 7).
On the coast of the North Sea, in the north and north-west of the country, in zones of high wind activity, 13 large wind farms with a capacity of more than 60 megawatts each were installed. In 2025 the wind farms in the Netherlands had a total installed capacity of 11 700 MW [34]. The largest of these is the offshore Gemini farm, with an installed capacity of 600 MW [35].
As mentioned previously, the level of direct horizontal solar irradiation in some regions of the country can reach 3.5 kWh/m², which is a low, but sufficient resource for the production of energy through photovoltaics [11]. As a result, there are a number of solar energy facilities installed on this territory, including 7 photovoltaic stations with a capacity of more than 1 MW each (Fig. 7). The Solar Panel Roof Floriade, with an installed capacity of 2.3 MW, covers an area of ​​three football fields and has more than 19 000 solar panels on the roofs of buildings; it is on of the largest PV station of this type in the world [36].
The Netherlands actively uses hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, and in various other industries. In 2024, 19 hydrogen filling stations were in operation in the country. 6 Compressed Hydrogen Plants are operated by Air Liquid (Figure 7), the largest of which was Bergen op Zoom (32,042 Nm³/hr) [37]. The Cryogenic Liquid Hydrogen Plant in Rozenburg, owned by Air Products, has an installed capacity of 2,502 Nm³/hr [38]. Hydrogen is transported through several pipelines with a total length of 137 km (Fig. 7).

Figure 7. Renewable energy in the Netherlands: wind, solar and hydrogen

Figure 8 shows the main bioenergy facilities in the Netherlands for energy production.
2023 biomass generated about 20,3 TWh (Fig. 7). Nationwide, there are enterprises for processing biomass and municipal waste, producing biogas, biodiesel, bioethanol, pellets and landfill gas. Eneco manages the largest biomass processing plant – Golden Raand, with an installed capacity of more than 50 MWel [39]. The Ecopark De Wierdegas-to-energy plant can generate about 19 056.0 MWh of electricity from landfill gas [40].
Abengoa Bioenergia produces about 127 Mgal of bioethanol annually at the country's largest enterprise - Europoort [41]. Sas van Gent, a second generation bioethanol plant, produces 2.0 Ml of bioethanol annually [42].
The main companies in the field of bioenergy are: in Rotterdam, Neste Oil Biodiesel Plant, with an installed capacity of 800 000 tons of biodiesel per year; Geertruidenberg (Amer-9), Essent Biomass Gasification Plant with an installed capacity of 85 MWth; and Waardenburg, Plospan Bioenergy B.V. Wood pellet plant, which can produce 125 000 tons of pellets annually [43]. The leader in the generation of electricity from municipal waste is Amsterdam Centrale,  which has an installed capacity of 74 MW [44]. Steenwijk torrefication plant, has an installed capacity of 90 000 tons per year [43]. The Hengelo Empyro Project, a fast pyrolysis plant capable of processing 120 tons of biomass per day, equivalent to 25 MWt; there are plans to increase production to 20 million litres of fuel per year, which theoretically could provide about 8 000  households with energy and reduce CO₂ emissions by 20 000 tons [45].

Figure 8. Renewable energy in the Netherlands: bioresources

The PettenBtL-FT (Thermochemical BTL Plants) pilot project, launched by the Energy Research Center of the Netherlands (ECN) in 2008, has an installed capacity of 0.8 MWth [46].
One of the main priorities of the national energy policy is to increase the share of renewable energy sources to 100% by 2050. To speed up progress, the government is taking a number of measures  to increase sustainable energy production and find better ways of using and saving energy, including actively subsidizing renewable energy, and reducing taxes on electricity produced by small solar units, supporting projects on connecting solar panels and wind farms on land and in the sea to the electricity grid, building hydrogen pipelines and a bigger and more robust electricity grid.
By the end of 2031, the Netherlands aims to have around 21 GW of installed offshore wind power capacity. New offshore wind farms are planned to be built about 60 kilometres off the Dutch coast, near Ieymuiden in the the largest wind farm zone in the Netherlands IJmuiden Ver. The new sites, called Alpha and Beta, will have a total capacity of 4 GW. They are expected to be operational in 2029 and 2030. The Netherlands plans to reach about 50 gigawatts of installed offshore wind power capacity in 2040 and about 70 gigawatts in 2050. In addition, offshore solar parks are planned as part of the offshore wind farms, an innovation programme for which EUR 44.5 million has been allocated and the first pilot projects for an offshore solar power system have been launched in 2023 [47, 48].
According to the National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 [48], innovative biofuels will play an important role on the way to reducing CO2 emissions. The increase in biofuels should come mainly from sustainable biogenic residues, with many biofuels already being produced from waste and residues today. For the use of renewable fuels in aviation, the Netherlands sets separate targets: 14 % in 2030 and 100 % in 2050. In addition, under the Groen Gas programme, the country intends to increase the country's production of clean gas to 2 billion cubic metres in 2030.

Windmills in zeeland (the Netherlands). Envato Elements. 6MLNJBHG4W

Three high-voltage transmission lines: Doetinchem-Wesel 380 kV; Randstad 380 kV-Noordrin; and Zuid-West 380 kV west (Borssele-Rilland), are at the stage of design and construction, under the management of TenneT [51,52,53].
At the initiative of Uniper and Engie (Maasvlakte CCS Project CV), a demonstration project on the collection, storage and transportation of СО₂–ROAD-project (Rotterdam Opslag in Afvang Demonstratieproject) will be implemented in Rotterdam.
The CO₂ collected at the Unipower Power plant Maasvlakte Power Plant 3 (MPP3) will be compressed to 80 bar and will be directed to a storage facility in the North Sea through an underground pipeline [54].
In the field of hydrogen, ”Battolyser" technology, should be noted. It is being developed by the Technical University of Delft, and combines the storage of electricity with hydrogen production, allowing for the efficient and profitable storage of electricity [55].

A set of indices reflecting the positioning of the Netherlands in comparison with the rest of the world in the field of education and innovation is presented in Figure 9. From the diagrams presented it can be seen that the Netherlands is a country with a very high level of education and innovation.
According to the Global Innovation Index 2024, the Netherlands is ranked 8^th after Switzerland, Sweden, UK out of 133 countries (see diagram for links). According to the second and third index, the Netherlands ranks highly in the level of patent activity, including patenting in the field of energy.
A significant level of government expenditure on education, as a percentage of the country's GDP (46^th in the world) contributes to 13 universities entering the QS University Rating. The country's GDP is high, therefore, in absolute terms, the costs of education and research are significant.
 

In terms of public expenditure on research and development, as a percentage of GDP, the country is 18^th, behind a number of European countries, including Switzerland and Germany. The Netherlands is well positioned when considering the number of publications of specialists in scientific and technological journal and patent activities. The country is 15^th out of 240 participating countries in the Scimago ranking, and in Scientific and Journal Activities it is ranked 18^th out of 197 countries.
The universities of the Netherlands, such as Eindhoven University of Technology, Delft University of Technology, and the University of Twente train specialists in various fields of energy, including Electrical Engineering, Sustainable Energy Technology, Chemical Engineering, etc.
In the field of synthetic fuel production, extraction and processing of unconventional oil, the leaders in patenting are Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V., Stichting Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland, BASF Nederland B.V., Albemarle Netherlands BV, Stamicarbon BV.Research, and research and development in this field is carried out by Eindhoven University of Technology, Delft University of Technology, University of Twente, and the University of Utrecht.
In the field of extraction and processing of unconventional oil, patents for inventions are owned by Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V., Schlumberger Technology B.V. The European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) is also actively engaged in research in this field.
Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V., Schlumberger Technology B.V. are the leading patent holders in the field of coal bed methane, gas hydrates, associated gas, hydrocarbon production from low-permeability reservoirs. Studies in these areas are also carried out by Delft University of Technology, University of Utrecht, and the Royal Netherlands Insight for Sea Research (NIOZ).
The leading patent holders in the field of bioenergy are Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V., Stichting Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland, Shell Oil Company, Bioecon International Holding N.V., Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepastnatuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO, DSM IP Assets B.V.
Delft University of Technology, University of Groningen, University of Utrecht, Wageningen University, and the University of Twente are conducting research in this field.
A large number of Dutch companies patent technical solutions in the field of energy production from renewable sources. Notable in the field of solar energy are Koninklijke Philips N.V., Antecy B.V., Econcern B.V., and Graphite Energy N.V. Leading research universities in this field are Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, and the University of Utrecht. In the field of wind energy Xemc Darwind B.V., Windfin B.V., and WILIC SARL are prominent. Research and development in this field is carried out by Delft University of Technology, Knowledge Centre WMC, and the Maritime Research Institute.

The environmental index diagram presented in Figure 10 reflects to some extent the ecological situation in the country.
The country demonstrates a relatively high level of CO₂ emissions both in general, and per capita. In 2014, CO₂ emissions from coal mining and processing amounted to 20 mt, which is much less than in, for example, Poland, – 129 mt and neighbouring Germany – 256 mt, but more than in France – 11 mt [52]. On average, the cost of eliminating the consequences of such emissions for the Netherlands is more than 2,7 billion euros (health costs, pollution costs); in Germany this figure is more than 4 billion euros [52]. It is also necessary to note a high level of methane emissions.
 

Netherlands is regarded as one of the 61 countries responsible for more than 90% of global CO₂ emissions related to energy in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). In the CCPI-2025, the country is on the second position after Denmark and has  achieved “high” rating.
In terms of forest area as a percentage of the country, the Netherlands is 173^th in the world, but demonstrates a positive trend. Clearly, the preservation of forests is a priority for the state.

Old ancient castle in the Netherlands. Envato Elements. 3JEF9KHU2T

The situation is brightened by a relatively high valuation of the Netherlands in the Environmental Performance Index rankings 2024 (EPI), which focuses primarily on assessing the environmental performance of national governments. Here, the country is 13^th out of 180 countries, behind Sweden, the UK and France.
According to the Ecological Footprint Atlas rating, the Netherlands is among a number of ecological debtors.

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[27] Terminals / The Netherlands / Vopak / www.vopak.com
[28] Dimethyl Ether / Products / AkzoNobel N.V. / www.akzonobel.com
[29] Successful start up new plant  / BioMCN / www.biomcn.eu
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[32] Waterkracht / Energieproductie / Nuon / www.nuon.com
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[39] Bio Golden Raand / Eneco / www.eneco.com/nl/
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[43] Large Industrial Users of Energy Biomass, September 2013 (PDF) / IEA Bioenergy Task 40 / bioenergytrade.org
[44] Netherlands / Waste-to-Energy / Energy / Industry About / www.industryabout.com
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[46] MILENA Gasification process (PDF) / Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) / www.ecn.nl
[47] Offshore wind: The Netherlands well on schedule, tender round to double capacity will start early 2024 / 20.12.2023 / News / Government of the Netherlands / www.government.nl
[48] Update of the National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 / Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy / commission.europa.eu/document/download/b6d21e56-4297-4b91-a692-300716209f72_en
[49] Stikstofinstallatie Zuidbroek / Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland / www.rvo.nl
[50] Wind op zee - Kavels I en II Hollandse Kust (zuid) / Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland / www.rvo.nl
[51] Doetinchem - Wesel 380 kV / Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland / www.rvo.nl
[52] Randstad 380 kV - Noordring / Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland / www.rvo.nl
[53] Zuid-West 380 kV west (Borssele-Rilland) / Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland / www.rvo.nl
[54] ROAD-project / Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland / www.rvo.nl
[55] FuelCellsWorks / New TU Delft ‘battolyser’ technology combines electricity storage and hydrogen production in a single system, enabling electricity to be stored efficiently and affordably / fuelcellsworks.com
[56] European Coal Map / Coal is a climate problem / www.coalmap.eu

The sources of charts and curves are specified under the images.

For more information about the energy industry in the Netherlands see here