What is fossil energy?
Direct answer
Fossil energy is energy from natural gas, oil and coal, fuels that formed from the remains of plants and animals millions of years ago. Burning them releases the stored carbon as CO2. These sources are finite and non-renewable, and they currently still supply by far the largest share of the energy the Netherlands consumes.
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What is fossil energy: scattered information versus Energy Intelligence
Anyone heating an office with a gas boiler, refuelling a company car or drawing power that was partly generated in a gas plant is using fossil energy. For most business owners this is simply the norm. Yet much is changing: the government is phasing out fossil sources step by step, and a CO2 price is making emissions more expensive. This topic matters to every company that buys gas or fuel and wants to understand where its energy comes from.
- Fossil energy comes from three fuels: natural gas, oil and coal, formed from organic material that fossilised underground over millions of years.
- Burning them releases long-stored carbon as extra CO2 into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change.
- Around 80 percent of the energy the Netherlands consumes is still fossil, including natural gas for heating and part of its electricity.
Insight
Traditional approach
Information is scattered across portals, documents, invoices or separate spreadsheets.
Modern approach
Data, context and interpretation are brought together into a clear decision picture.
Decision-making
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Choices are made based on averages, assumptions or occasional analyses.
Modern approach
Scenarios, KPIs and current measurement data make the trade-off more concrete and repeatable.
Follow-up
Traditional approach
Actions often stay non-committal or disappear into separate reports.
Modern approach
Follow-up actions, monitoring and reporting are linked to the same energy data.
Where does fossil energy come from?
Fossil fuels contain carbon that was captured millions of years ago by plants and animals. That organic material ended up beneath layers of earth and fossilised, keeping the carbon outside the natural carbon cycle. This is how natural gas, oil and coal formed. We now extract those fuels and burn them for heat, electricity and transport. In doing so, the stored carbon is released after all, as a substantial amount of extra CO2 in the atmosphere. Because the reserves in the ground built up over millions of years and are not replenished, fossil sources are finite and non-renewable. Besides energy, oil and natural gas also serve as raw materials for the petrochemical industry, which turns them into plastics, paint and solvents.
- Natural gas, oil and coal formed from the remains of plants and animals from millions of years ago.
- The carbon stayed safely underground for a long time; burning brings it into the atmosphere as CO2.
- The reserves are not replenished, which is why these sources are called finite and non-renewable.
- Oil and natural gas are also raw materials for plastics, paint and solvents.
What role does fossil energy still play in the Netherlands?
Fossil energy currently still supplies by far the largest part of the Dutch energy system: around 80 percent of the energy consumed is fossil. Natural gas heats most buildings and homes and is used in gas plants to generate electricity. Oil products such as petrol and diesel power road transport. Coal plays a smaller role, mainly in a few power stations. There is not yet enough renewable energy to replace natural gas entirely, so fossil sources remain necessary for now to keep supply and demand balanced. At the same time, the Netherlands is building a new energy system in which wind, solar, nuclear and hydrogen gradually take over this role.
- Around 80 percent of the energy consumed in the Netherlands is still fossil.
- Natural gas heats buildings and generates electricity in gas plants.
- Petrol and diesel from oil power road transport.
- There is not yet enough renewable energy to replace natural gas entirely.
What is the difference with renewable energy, and why are businesses moving away?
Renewable energy comes from sources that do not run out, such as wind, solar and geothermal heat, and produces no extra CO2 when used. Fossil energy does produce it and is finite. That difference explains why more and more businesses are switching. The government wants to use only renewable energy by 2050 and is therefore phasing out fossil sources step by step. For industry and electricity generation, the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) also applies, putting a price on CO2 emissions and so making fossil use more expensive. Because fossil fuels slowly run out and fluctuate in price, generating your own wind and solar power makes a business less dependent on those prices. In this way climate targets, the CO2 price, security of supply and cost all play a part.
- Renewable sources do not run out and produce no extra CO2 in use; fossil sources do.
- The government is phasing out fossil sources, aiming for only renewable energy by 2050.
- The European Emissions Trading System (ETS) puts a price on CO2 emissions and makes fossil use more expensive.
- Generating your own wind and solar power makes a business less dependent on fluctuating gas and oil prices.
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