Not surprisingly, the trains in the Netherlands are powered by 100% wind energy. The country is, after all, world-famous for its picturesque windmills! Initially, the windmills were used to make electricity to pump water or grind grain. Now, there are turbines as well across the landscape that make electricity to help Dutch commuters get to work.
Since January 1, 2017, every single one of the electric trains belonging to Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), one of the country’s national railway companies, has been running on energy harvested from the wind. They had been working with Eneco, a ‘sustainable energy supplier’ operating in the Netherlands, for several years to make this happen.
As if that isn’t impressive enough, they even reached this goal 100% renewable energy a whole year ahead of schedule. And the country’s overachievement doesn’t stop there!
According to the Global Wind Energy Council, record-breaking turbines capable of generating 586 MW of electricity were installed between January and December of 2015. Then in 2016, Dutch wind hit the headlines again, when a 700 MW offshore wind farm near the town of Borssele became the most ‘cost-effective’ in the world. It was because of these earlier achievements that NS and Eneco were able to hit their target so far ahead of schedule.
The amount of electricity they need to power these trains is no small number either. NS operates about 5,500 train trips daily. The company carries 600,000 people per day, requiring around 1.2 billion kWh of electricity a year. That’s enough electricity to power all the households in Amsterdam, the country’s largest city. The fact that they can generate that much power from wind alone is a huge deal!
The electricity delivered to the train is used to power lights, and air-conditioning, as well as the traction motors, which are what turn the train’s wheels. NS is the first rail company in the world that runs its fleet entirely on renewable energy. One wind turbine running for an hour can power a train for 120 miles, the companies said.
Overall, the Netherlands has over 2,000 wind turbines spread across the country. These wind turbines generate enough power to sustain the equivalent of 2.4 million homes. We are in the midst of a clean energy revolution, and the Netherlands is one of the leading countries setting a strong example for other nations to follow.
