Hard targets for energy conservation are a challenge for the Dutch cabinet
The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) is pleased that the coalition agreement of the new Dutch government gives such high priority to energy, making it a specific subject in the new Innovation platform. ECN is also happy that the government’s ambitions match the environmental targets set by the European Commission.
In the coalition agreement, the policy instruments, technical developments and public acceptance are only briefly described. The political effort and costs that will be necessary for energy conservation seem to be underestimated. The proposed, innovation-oriented Environmental quality of Electricity Production (MEP) programme alone is insufficient to realise a volume of 20 percent of renewable energy.
A broader range of measures, such as a system of obligations parallell to the MEP, and eventually a number of technological breakthroughs, seem necessary. The new coalition agreement does not place enough emphasis on convincing citizens and the industry and on preparing them for the significant changes in their energy use. For the current government term, the government has reserved € 500 million per year until 2011. ECN calculates that the government will have to spend between € 1.2 and € 1.5 billion from 2011 onwards in order to realise their ambitions.
Realising the last tenths of a percent of the energy conservation goal seems to be a very costly process. ECN estimates that only 1.8% energy conservation per year can be achieved, instead of 2%. A share of 16% renewable energy by 2020 would be an excellent performance. By utilising CO2 capture and storage, and possibly nuclear energy as well, a greenhouse gas emission reduction of 30% by 2020 may still be achievable. In doing so, the Netherlands will be able to set a global example with ambitious and realistic energy and climate policy aimed at a more sustainable energy supply in the long term. .
Information:
For more information about the Dutch energy conservation potential, as well as possible policy measure incentives, download the report Instrumenten voor energiebesparing, instrumenteerbaarheid van 2% besparing per jaar (Instruments for energy conservation. Instrumentability of a 2% annual reduction).
