Netherlands falling behind in renewable energy

**The Lawspeaker** · 03-31-2011, 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by Forget Me Not

A small country like the Netherlands obviously doesn't have the resources for such endeavor. Options like coal, hydro and maybe geothermal are more viable to your country since such resources are easily accessible.

Nope to each one of them. Coal is a terrible pollutant and we don't have the resources for hydro and geothermal energy. So: remains osmotic power, tidal energy, bio, wind and solar. And that in combination with some imported power from Norway.

**poiuytrewq0987** · 03-31-2011, 12:29 AM

Originally Posted by Civis Batavi

Nope to each one of them. Coal is a terrible pollutant and we don't have the resources for hydro and geothermal energy. So: remains osmotic power, tidal energy, bio, wind and solar. And that in combination with some imported power from Norway.

Just man up and import energy from Germany.

**The Lawspeaker** · 03-31-2011, 12:33 AM

Originally Posted by Forget Me Not

Just man up and import energy from Germany.

No thanks. Why be dependent on others ? That's the stuff that causes wars. Look at America: so heavily dependent on oil that they would invade Hell for it.

Look at Europe: OPEC shut the tap on several countries, including the Netherlands, in 1973: it crashed our economy. Thanks but no thanks.

**poiuytrewq0987** · 03-31-2011, 12:58 AM

Originally Posted by Civis Batavi

No thanks. Why be dependent on others ? That's the stuff that causes wars. Look at America: so heavily dependent on oil that they would invade Hell for it.

Look at Europe: OPEC shut the tap on several countries, including the Netherlands, in 1973: it crashed our economy. Thanks but no thanks.

Maybe you'll have to just accept that the Netherlands' role in European energy production will always be minor and alternative energy making little difference in actual energy generation.

**The Lawspeaker** · 03-31-2011, 01:01 AM

Originally Posted by Forget Me Not

Maybe you'll have to just accept that the Netherlands' role in European energy production will always be minor and alternative energy making little difference in actual energy generation.

Do me a favour and do yourself a favour and visit the Netherlands before you say that again. We have a great number of rivers, we have the straits in Zealand with dams and dikes. We have the barrier dam in the IJsselmeer, we have the North Sea (which are relatively shallow waters and we have some more gas in there as well) and we have a flat country with a lot of wind we have all the resources that we need. No.. we just are stuck in old ways.

**poiuytrewq0987** · 03-31-2011, 01:09 AM

Originally Posted by Civis Batavi

Do me a favour and do yourself a favour and visit the Netherlands before you say that again. We have a great number of rivers, we have the straits in Zealand with dams and dikes. We have the barrier dam in the IJsselmeer, we have the North Sea (which are relatively shallow waters and we have some more gas in there as well) and we have a flat country with a lot of wind we have all the resources that we need. No.. we just are stuck in old ways.

Then it's just down to a matter of mutilating the countryside all in name of energy independence.

**The Lawspeaker** · 03-31-2011, 01:12 AM

Originally Posted by Forget Me Not

Then it's just down to a matter of mutilating the countryside all in name of energy independence.

Clearly: give it a thought before you actually post on issues about my country. We would need a couple of big wind farms (which can be put out on the North Sea), solar panels (and decent insulation in all) on the houses where it is possible, one more nuclear reactor and some other additions that can be integrated in our dams.

**~~Albion~~** · 09-17-2011, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by Civis Batavi

No thanks. Why be dependent on others ? That's the stuff that causes wars. Look at America: so heavily dependent on oil that they would invade Hell for it.

Look at Europe: OPEC shut the tap on several countries, including the Netherlands, in 1973: it crashed our economy. Thanks but no thanks.

Agreed.

I'm starting to think the current renewable energy resources are a waste of time though.
In England if they are to generate even a quarter of our energy we'd have to have thousands of wind farms off the coast and in the hills and all these can pay for many nuclear power stations.

Nuclear fuel is very efficient and creates a large amount of electricity to a small proportion of fuel and no emission or pollution so long as the radioactive materials are stored correctly.

There is actually a way of generating nuclear power which doesn't require radioactive materials which is being tested in England. the UK and US have partnered on it, the technology works but isn't ready for power stations or wide scale usage yet.
If it can be adapted to power stations then it potentially means that we can have the efficiency of nuclear energy without all the dangerous radioactive materials!
The technology splits atoms in the air - no emissions, if we can perfect it then it means the world could potentially have a huge abundance of extremely cheap electricity!

But for the moment the plain old nuclear with radioactive fuels will have to do. It works well enough for France which is a energy exporter, apart from a few mishaps like the recent one.

The Netherlands could build a few nuclear power stations around the coast of Groningen and Friesland to supply a lot of the country.