The Netherlands is one with other countries in turning into sustainable solutions. Authorities there have grand plans to adapt renewable energy technologies, with a goal of switching to 16% green energy by 2023. There is also a long-term goal by the central government to slash greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
Now they have tapped the business sector to lead the switch. And in 2018, major Dutch airports will run on sustainable power.
Starting in 2018, all business units of the Royal Schiphol Group will use clean energy. The Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Eindhoven Airport, and Lelystad Airport are the primary recipients.
Photo via Wikipedia Commons
Rotterdam-based energy company Eneco will provide the wind energy supply for these airports but starting only in 2020. New Dutch wind farms will be built; until then, the power to be used by the airports will come from other sustainable sources in the Netherlands.
The first new wind farm that will generate power for Royal Schiphol Group is Vianen, which will be up and running from January.
An annual power capacity of 220 gigawatt hours will be supplied by Eneco for the next 15 years, reports say. This will be enough to meet the growing demand of the people using the airport.
It was recorded in 2016 that 70 million passengers passed through Royal Schiphol Group’s Dutch airports.
Photo via Eindhoven Airport’s Website
“For our new energy contract, we wanted nothing but sustainable power generated in the Netherlands,” said Jos Nijhuis, president and CEO of the Royal Schiphol Group, in a statement. He added that aviation “can and must be made more sustainable.”
Jeroen de Haas, the Eneco Group’s CEO, agreed and said, “For the energy transition, it is crucial for the business sector – which is by far the largest energy consumer – to embrace sustainability.
“Pioneers such as Royal Schiphol Group are consciously choosing new, sustainable forms of production and are therefore setting the tone for others,” he added.
Source: CNBC
