All trains running on Dutch network operator NS Dutch Railways’ lines are now powered by electricity derived entirely from green power. The switch is a result of a partnership between NS and wind turbine operator Eneco and represents an early reaching of a milestone scheduled for next year.

NS trains make 1.2 million journeys every day and its trains require 1.4 TWh of energy to do that. According to the railways operator, this amount is equal to 1 percent of the Netherlands’ total power consumption, or the annual consumption of Amsterdam, writes oilprice.com.

Half of the energy needed to supply the trains comes from wind farms both at home, and the rest from neighboring Belgium and the Scandinavian states. The reason: if the trains relied only on domestically produced energy, this would limit the availability of wind energy for other users and make it more expensive as well, according to Eneco official Michel Kerkhof.

While Eneco says all of the rail energy comes from 100% wind farmed projects, it is possible that the Dutch operator uses Guarantees of Origin (GoO) certificates, that confirm buying green energy from various sources, according to cleantechnica.com.

However, The Netherlands remains one of the champions of green energy, with the government pledging to give up conventional fuels by 2050.

Autor: Bogdan Tudorache

Active in the economic and business press for the past 26 years, Bogdan graduated Law and then attended intensive courses in Economics and Business English. He went up to the position of editor-in-chief since 2006 and has provided management and editorial policy for numerous economic publications dedicated especially to the community of foreign investors in Romania. From 2003 to 2013 he was active mainly in the financial-banking sector. He started freelancing for Energynomics in 2013, notable for his advanced knowledge of markets, business communities and a mature editorial style, both in Romanian and English.