Netherlands Windmill. / Elements
By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – The Netherlands is the first European Union nation to ration electricity as its power grid is overwhelmed by demand.
Tuesday’s crisis emerged after green-leaning governments discouraged fossil fuels and closed Europe’s largest natural gas field in the Dutch province of Groningen, while almost ending energy imports from Russia.
Netbeheer Nederland, the association of Dutch grid operators, said more than 11,900 businesses and numerous public buildings such as hospitals and fire stations are on a waiting list for electricity connections.
In some cases, authorities said they must continue waiting until the mid-2030s.
The shortages come despite the Netherlands boosting over 3,550 wind turbines on land and hundreds more in the IJsselmeer lake and at the North Sea, upsetting residents in coastal towns of this seafaring nation.
Additionally, the country’s over 60 million solar panels, more than 3.5 panels for each person in the Netherlands, have done little to improve the situation.
Despite warnings by critical experts, the country’s leaders wanted to turn the Netherlands into the world’s leading nation for “renewable” energy while shifting away from more reliable sources, especially natural gas.
ZEALOUS DRIVE
Yet the zealous drive led to one of Europe’s highest utility prices for consumers as reliable energy became increasingly scarce in what was, till recently, one of the world’s most developed countries.
And with more electric cars and e-bikes on the road after government-backed “climate change” policies, the grid proved incompatible with rapid electrification increases.
Dutch officials are now responding to the issue by asking consumers to charge their electric bikes and cars outside peak times. They also suggest limiting showers and the use of household equipment, such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners.
Energy consultant Zsuzsanna Pató said the Dutch energy crisis should “definitely” serve as a warning for other European countries following the “green agenda.”
The Financial Times newspaper cited other analysts saying that electricity rationing in the Netherlands is “a harbinger of what is likely to occur in other EU countries.”
Spain already experienced a major electricity crisis and widespread blackout on April 28, affecting the entire Iberian Peninsula, including mainland Spain and Portugal.
The Netherlands, like several other countries in Europe, had been used to rely on its natural gas resources that power grid upgrades had not kept pace, commentators said.
GRONINGEN FIELD
However, the Dutch government closed the Groningen natural gas field, citing induced seismic activity.
While the field was a major natural gas supplier to the Netherlands and the rest of Europe, ongoing concerns among residents about earthquakes caused by natural gas extraction led to a decision to cease production.
Yet critics say that contributed to the Netherlands’ current energy crisis, suggesting it would have been better to compensate people living near the natural gas field adequately.
Adding to the difficulties are EU plans to effectively stop the import of Russian natural gas and oil across the 27-nation bloc by the end of 2027 in response to Moscow’s military invasion of Ukraine.
Eefje van Gorp, spokesperson for the Netherlands’ national power grid operator Tennet, noticed that neighboring Belgium, Britain, and Germany are also “in trouble,” because in Germany all the wind is in the north and the demand is in the south.”
Writer Michael A. Arouet added, “This is what happens when dogmatic green ideology beats common sense.”
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