Wind Energy in the Netherlands — Avoided Fossil Energy (1990–2024)

Measured as avoided fossil energy consumption (TJ) from CBS. 1990–2019 from dataset 83109ENG (discontinued); 2020–2024 from 84918ENG (current).

Wind avoided fossil energy (2024)
254,219 TJ
▲ from 539 TJ in 1990 (472×)
Total renewables avoided (2024)
591,177 TJ
▲ from 16,708 TJ in 1990 (35.4×)
Wind share of renewables (2024)
43.0%
▲ from 3.2% in 1990
Wind avoided CO₂ (2024)
14,626 kton
11.48% of total Dutch CO₂

Wind Avoided Fossil Energy vs. Total Renewables — Milestone Years

Year Wind avoided (TJ) Onshore (TJ) Offshore (TJ) Avoided CO₂ from wind (kton) Total renewables avoided (TJ) Wind % of renewables
1990 83109ENG 539539—3916,7083.2%
2019 83109ENG 86,79358,38728,4076,136255,41934.0%
2020 84918ENG 108,77763,13245,6456,168331,79132.8%
2024 84918ENG 254,219135,773118,44614,626591,17743.0%

1990 and 2019 wind figures from dataset 83109ENG (discontinued). 2020 and 2024 wind figures from 84918ENG (current). Total renewables avoided energy from 84918ENG (key T001028). Note: 84918ENG reports 2019 wind avoided energy as 84,017 TJ (vs. 86,793 in 83109ENG) due to methodology revisions.

Wind Avoided Fossil Energy — Growth (TJ)

1990
539 TJ
2019
86,793
2020
108,777
2024
254,219

Bar widths scaled relative to 2024 (max = 254,219 TJ).

Onshore vs. Offshore Wind — Avoided Fossil Energy (TJ)

1990
539
No offshore wind
2019
58,387
28,407
2020
63,132
45,645
2024
135,773
118,446

Onshore in green, offshore in purple. Offshore wind began in 2006; by 2024 it reached 87% of onshore levels.

Renewable Energy Mix — 2024 (by Avoided Fossil Energy)

43.0%Wind
Wind energy254,219 TJ (43.0%)
Solar energy (PV + thermal)173,522 TJ (29.4%)
Biomass & biogas141,335 TJ (23.9%)
Other (hydro, geothermal, heat pumps)22,101 TJ (3.7%)
Total renewables591,177 TJ

Measured as avoided fossil energy consumption. "Other" = total minus wind, solar, and biomass. Solar includes PV (172,281 TJ) and solar thermal (1,241 TJ).

Key Takeaways

472× growth: Wind's avoided fossil energy grew from 539 TJ in 1990 to 254,219 TJ in 2024 — a 472-fold increase. The growth from 2020 to 2024 alone (145,442 TJ) exceeded the entire cumulative total through 2019 (86,793 TJ).

#1 renewable source by avoided fossil energy: Wind now accounts for 43.0% of all avoided fossil energy from renewables — the largest single source, having overtaken biomass (23.9%) and solar (29.4%). In 1990, wind was just 3.2% of the renewable total; biomass dominated at 91%.

Offshore surge: Offshore wind went from zero (pre-2006) to 118,446 TJ of avoided fossil energy in 2024, reaching 87% of onshore levels (135,773 TJ). The offshore figure nearly quadrupled from 2019 to 2024 (28,407 → 118,446 TJ).

CO₂ impact: Wind energy avoided 14,626 kton of CO₂ in 2024 — 11.48% of total Dutch CO₂ emissions. Total renewables avoided 35,944 kton (28.2%). Wind alone accounts for 40.7% of all CO₂ avoided by renewables.

Data Sources & Methodology

DatasetTitlePeriodStatusUsed for
83109ENGRenewable energy; final use and avoided use of fossil energy1990–2019DiscontinuedWind avoided energy 1990 & 2019
84918ENGAvoided use of fossil energy and emission of CO₂1990–2025CurrentWind avoided energy 2020 & 2024; total renewables all years

Both tables report avoided fossil energy in TJ and avoided CO₂ in kton. CBS revised methodology between the two tables, causing a small discrepancy at the 2019 overlap (86,793 vs. 84,017 TJ for wind). Figures above use 83109ENG for 1990–2019 and 84918ENG for 2020–2024.

Sources: CBS (Statistics Netherlands) — datasets 83109ENG and 84918ENG. Data retrieved July 2026 via the CBS OData API (opendata.cbs.nl).