INTERVIEW Ongoing insight into Dutch CO₂ emissions

What can we do to reduce the emissions from our energy consumption? With green sources, of course, but also with insight into how high those emissions actually are. A major step towards providing that insight is the CO₂ Monitor, which Gasunie and TenneT presented in November 2021. Anton Tijdink, Electricity Market Analyst at TenneT, and Sander Huizinga, Senior Business Developer at Gasunie, talk about their project. Sander: ‘Behavioural change comes through insight, not through cables and pipelines.’

Energy and emissions

Sander: ‘The CO₂ Monitor shows the current energy mix in the Netherlands, as well as the associated emissions. And that in near real time, with only about an hour’s delay. We show the average carbon emissions of all Dutch electricity generation and all natural gas used as fuel in the Netherlands. With the monitor, anyone can see when our national energy consumption is accompanied by low carbon emissions, or when emissions are high, like when there is little sun with the result that more coal or gas is being burned to generate electricity.’

Resource for studies

Sander continues, ‘At the moment there is no real incentive in the market to steer energy consumption based on the emissions at a given time. This monitor is only intended as a means to raise awareness. But that’s just the first step. A study has already been carried out using our data, a study on the correlation between the spot market price and the emission factor. That connection is definitely there, but not as strong as we thought. The data can also be used for other studies. The CO₂ Monitor is publicly available and when this interview is published, it will probably also be possible to download data.’

From looking back to looking ahead

‘In the future the CO₂ Monitor could be used for flexible billing, for example,’ Anton explains. ‘But before you can manage based on something, you first need data. Insight into the variables is often still lacking. Though people knew that the energy mix changes over time, that had not yet been made visible. And now it has. And the more energy consumption we can make sustainable, the better.’ ‘The next step is to create a forecast,’ Sander adds. ‘For example, that there will be a lot of sun around 12 noon tomorrow, so that you as a company or consumer can take this into account.’

Flexibility

Anton: ‘At TenneT we had ideas on this matter for some time. We are increasingly focusing on flexibility within the energy system, so in 2018 TenneT published a Flexibility Roadmap. Part of this was the plan to provide access to more time-based energy and emission data. Then Sander dropped in to discuss an entirely different matter.’ Sander says, ‘I was already involved in the development of the energy generation website Energieopwek.nl. We kept in touch and came up with the idea of the CO₂ Monitor. In this instrument, we could combine the data available for Energieopwek.nl and the public data from Gasunie and TenneT to create an integrated system perspective.’

Launch

Anton: ‘We didn’t see each other again in person until the launch. This really became a coronavirus project. We launched the CO₂ Monitor during the Dutch National Climate Week, on the “Day of the Climate Agreement”. Having a deadline like this to work towards helped us.’ Sander adds, ‘An instrument like this is never finished, and before you know it you are stuck in endless development cycles. By throwing it open, you get feedback that you can use to move forward. Most of the reactions we get are positive: people see the value of this tool for their studies and policy development. For example, we are in talks with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy about what they can do with this and what additions we can make.’

At the heart of the energy transition

‘We had a lot of fun with this project,’ Sander continues. ‘But the most important thing for me is that this is the future – visualise the emissions and manage them accordingly. We are at the heart of the energy transition.’ Anton: ‘I agree. I think it’s important that people who make choices in the transition, from politicians to citizens, be better informed. Outdated information often lives on for a long time. With the CO₂ Monitor, we can show data on the increase in renewable energy generation, for example, in near real time.’

Future features

Anton says, ‘My dream for the future is that we can merge all the data on electricity generation across all of Europe. And then of course in combination with the distribution of natural gas, and other sources as well, like heat for example. If that all works out on our way to 2030, that would be really cool.’ ‘My dream is the same as Anton’s in that regard,’ says Sander. ‘But I also think about providing more refined insights, and about including imports and exports. We are still debating new features; all options are still on the table.’