My goal is to have a boat that can go for hours using just an electrical engine. Preferably using a powerful engine so I can go a bit faster than a snail. To create a “green boat”, I need access to green energy. Otherwise I would use electricity that is generated with gas or coals. It would feel good, but still it would not be a green boat.

If I would plug my electrical boat in a power socket, the chance that my boat would be charged with renewable energy is not very big, less than 1 out of 25 to be precise. In 2010 the Netherlands used only 3,8% renewable energy according to the “Centraal Bureau van de Statistiek”. I was shocked to find out that this number was this low. We have been talking about renewable energy, new initiatives, saving energy and creating a sustainable environment. But it seems this has been nothing but empty promises.Usually people talk about a figure of about 9%. About 9% of electricity used in the Netherlands is renewable.

To show the various energy sources we use, the Dutch newspaper NRC made this nice overview. The text is in Dutch, but the 20 pictures are worth a look. The photos are provided by Shell as part of the Energy Future Project. They claim that “we will need all energy solutions and savings to be able to handle the future demand of energy”.

Did you know that the biggest oilfield on the European mainland is located in the Netherlands?