The Expert Team presented its final report for the Energy System 2050 to minister Jetten. “Electricity supply is the beating heart of the energy transition and must be carbon neutral by 2035,” says Expert Team chairman Bernard ter Haar. Energie-Nederland believes, in order to achieve this, two very substantial policy choices are needed:
- Initial ‘drastic steps by the government’ for electricity grid expansion to drastically increase the pace of expansion.
- Sufficient carbon-free adjustable electricity production should be in place very soon.
Energie-Nederland fully agrees with the Expert Team that without additional policies, there will not be sufficient investment, especially since much adjustable power will ultimately run only a very limited number of hours each year. These additional policies are needed now, due to investment lead times (not as late as nearly 2030, as the Expert Team indicates).
The Expert Team sees the conversion of coal-fired power station to biomass as a realistic option. This could contribute to the necessary adjustable production and to negative emissions due to the proximity of CCS infrastructure in the North Sea. The Expert Team emphasizes that the biomass demand will ultimately be limited, because these plants (due to the strong growth of wind and solar) will run less and less in the decade after 2030.
For (green) hydrogen, the Expert Team expects a ‘probably limited’ role. However, Energie-Nederland believes hydrogen is an important alternative for electricity; due to the great scarcity on the electricity grids that will not be solved soon. Therefore, production of offshore hydrogen and transportation onto land is also crucial for, among others, making industry more sustainable.
Read the full report here.
