The Underground Natural Resources of the Netherlands
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The Underground Natural Resources of the Netherlands
Underground Resources: Introduction
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is an
OECD member-State that is associated with a high standard of living. This ultimately
hinges upon harnessing the natural and artificial resources within its
landscape. Most notably, the Dutch have excelled in efficient water management
to avoid floods, and to enable thriving agricultural pursuits for several
decades. However, what is less known is the recent initiative by the Dutch State
agencies to efficiently utilise the underground resources over the post-World
War II decades, as shown in Figure 1 below. The Government has initiated
various policies that are regulated through its Agencies’ enforcement of laws.
This yields an ostensibly sustainable usage of: underground water, coal, rock
salt, hydrocarbons and thermal energy sources.
Figure
1: Underground Resources being explored in
The Netherlands (Author’s Framework)
Water for Domestic Consumption
Firstly, it must be noted that
approximately 60% of all of the potable water in The Netherlands is sourced
from subterranean channels. In fact, a mere 40% of drinking water is derived
from surface water, taken from the west of Netherlands where water agencies
pump water from areas like the Rhine river Basin. The access to the underground
water is managed and propagated by 10 state-run public limited companies as
opposed to private (VEWIN 2006). The rationale of the State to become actively
involved in the procurement of surface and underground water is a deliberate
one, and linked to a Rights-Based approach to human development. Water is not
supposed to be expensive especially since it is mainly coming from underground
channels.
Although the water companies are
state-agencies, they operate in a competitive manner and do not enjoy a
monopolistic control of any province’s consumer market. The companies are
expected to comply with the dictates of the Water Supply Act. Hence, the
underground water and surface water should not contain any traces of fluoride.
Interestingly, the underground water lacks chlorine which is used in poorer,
developing nations to destroy bacteria. This means that the taste of potable
water which is processed from the underground watersheds is satisfying and
lacking the taste of chemical additives popularly used in poorer countries.
The Dutch government has clearly rationalised
that safe and clean drinking water supply can be achieved from subterranean repositories.
After all, there is extensive usage of aquifers or underground springs, to
capture uncontaminated water from the zones of infiltration and percolation,
located above the bedrock. According to Galbraith (2013), both Netherlands and
its neighbour Belgium has also excelled in storing water, rather uniquely in
sand dunes that have been located underground for decades. This system of
underground water management seems to have applicability to rich Arab nations
facing water security concerns. For example, Abu Dhabi is currently seeking to
follow in the footsteps of the Dutch model of water capture and storage
(Galbraith 2013).
Commercial Exploitation of Underground Resources
Whilst the Netherlands is understandably
proud of its water capture for domestic consumption, there can be no denying
that there is intense commercialisation of underground resources beyond water.
These resources include: (i) hydrocarbons, particularly in the form of natural
gas, (ii) coal, (iii) rock salt and (iv) geothermal energy. Licensing contracts
are usually granted to various public or private industries to exploit
underground sites, as shown in Figure 2. Natural gas is the most lucrative
underground fuel source, and was estimated at 1130 billion Sm3 for the year
2012.
Natural gas and all other underground
resources, even if they are ubiquitous, must be explored by companies with the
appropriate licensing contracts, as shown in Figure 2 above. Interestingly,
there were only two exploration licenses in the natural gas sector as opposed
to several being granted in the rock salt sector. This is probably because the
Dutch government has to ensure that exploration for resources does not
compromise the fragile-ecosystems of the exploration sites. Indeed, it must be
conceded that Netherlands is very cautious about underground environmental
harnessing, in light of its attempt to conform to the dictates of the 1987 Brundtland
Commission Report on sustainable development.
Natural gas has been a mainstay of the
Dutch economy since 1959. Natural gas exploration is largely based on the
commercial operation of Groningen Gas field which is near Slochteren, in the
North East province of Groningen. This gas field is located on land, and is the
largest natural gas field in Europe and the tenth largest in the world. It is
operated by a joint venture involving Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil. Whilst
50 % of the Dutch supply of natural gas is taken from Groningen, there are 300
smaller offshore fields, located offshore in the North Sea (Roggenkamp and
Hammer 2004). Today, the Netherlands is a significant player in the global
natural gas industry and is ranked number three in reserves in Europe, as shown
in Figure 3 below.
|
Figure 3: Leading European Nations
with Natural Gas Reserves in trillions of cubic meters up to 2011
Source: Europe's Energy Portal (2010)
| ||||
|
Russia |
45.8 |
|||
|
Norway |
2 |
|||
|
The Netherlands |
1.2 |
|||
|
United Kingdom |
0.2 |
|||
|
Poland |
0.2 |
|||
|
Italy |
0.2 |
|||
|
Romania |
0.2 |
|||
Besides commercial exploitation of
natural gas reserves, rock salt and coal operations have thrived in Netherlands
for several decades. Kombrink (2012) states that carboniferous coal mines still
flourish. However, no coal bed methane has been found thereby restricting the
opportunity for underground exploration of coals. Unlike countries like China
and Australia where methane is trapped within the coal deposits, Netherlands’
coal location is relatively shallow and does not contain CH4- methane. This
means that in the future there is no plan to expand coal operations.
In similar vein to coal mine operations,
salt mining continues based on companies operating from pre-1987 licensing
contracts (Kombrink 2012). There have
been few developments in this industry since the solution mining process used
in salt extraction occurs at such deep distances of 2500 to 3000 meters, there
are cases of convergence and submergence of caverns. This effectively means
that any attempts at salt mining could be construed as being dangerous for the
natural environment.
Whereas the commercial exploration of
natural gas has potential for expansion, the harnessing of underground
resources in Netherlands for coal and salt manufacture may be a risky to the
natural environment. This is why these industries have not contributed as much
to the economy as the hydrocarbon sector via natural gas. In terms of a
frontier industry that taps into underground natural resources the geothermal
sector bears tremendous potential.
The Dutch
have creatively generated an underground thermal energy system that is used for
the heating and cooling of buildings. This measure is geared towards the
reduction in the greenhouse gas emission ambition, as laid out in the Kyoto
Protocol 1997, but more recently in the Paris COP 21 Conference of 2015. In the
year 2010, The Netherlands joined some of its European Union neighbours in a
10% plan, which refers to an attempt to reduce central heating energy sources
by 10% of the previous national average of consumption.
In the Dutch underground heating system
there are two possible methods to be used. First, in an open underground
thermal energy system, (UTES) an aquifer is converted to a well that stores extracted
or injected water. During the summer months the heat from the buildings is
moved to the groundwater well system and stored there resulting in an average
increase in the range of temperatures from 9 to 12 degrees to 15 to 20 degrees.
The water is kept underground in well during these months. In the winter
season, the opposite process occurs, whereby underground water is moved to the
buildings to aid in the centralised heating process.
In the second method of underground
storage, called the borehole thermal energy system (BTES), coolant fluid extracts
heat from underground. Overall the, ATES system appears to be more lucrative to
the Dutch public. It has become popular, and is not allowed to be used or mixed
with underground potable water systems. This is in accordance with the
Environmental Protection Act. However, from 2008, a ground breaking decision
was made by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment
relating to a traffic light model of determining whether a certain underground
site is actually worthy of usage. In this criteria, a green light means
permission is granted to operate without application; an amber light means that
an application must be made to the State; and a red light means that no
exploration of the site is allowed.
Undoubtedly, the usage of underground
resources for aiding the heating of homes, and businesses is a novel
innovation. It will lead to significant cutbacks in the Dutch contribution to a
carbon footprint. Whereas natural gas and coal exploration bring in revenue,
the activities related to these sectors tend to pollute the environment, which
is unlike thermal energy harnessing. Geothermal energy extraction is a cleaner,
safer and possessing opportunity for growth.
In a Strategic Study on the Utilisation
of Underground Space in The Netherlands by 2030, the feasibility of
Netherlands’ underground resources to manage different anthropogenic usages was
examined (Edelenbos et al. 1998). It was discovered that the underground does
not have the carrying capacity for building sites. Residential, urban and
business buildings cannot be sustained in the underground. This is because the
underground does not have sufficient carrying capacity to deal with the
extraction of resources. However, the underground is certainly providing a
spacious environment for water and energy usage.
Conclusion
In Netherlands, the underground
exploration of natural resources was first linked to mining activities in the
coal, salt and hydrocarbon sector. Since that time, the Netherlands has
innovatively sought to advance geothermal energy and potable water supplies.
These two sectors certainly point at sustainable lifestyle enhancements for all
members of the Dutch society.
References
Bonte,
M., P. J. Stuyfzand, A. Hulsmann, and P. Van Beelen (2011) ‘Underground thermal
energy storage: environmental risks and policy developments in the Netherlands
and European Union’, Ecology and Society16(1): 22. Retrieved 28
August 2016<http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol16/iss1/art22/>.
Edelenbos, J., Monninkhof,R., Hasnoot,
J., van der Hoeven, F. and van der Krogt, R. (1998) ‘Strategic study on the
utilisation of underground space in the Netherlands’, Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, April ？June 1998,
Volume 13 (2) 159: 165.
Europe’s Energy portal (2012) Natural gas reserves by country in 2011.
Retrieved on August 28 2016 at https://www.energy.eu/stats/energy-natural-gas-reserves.html>.
Galbraith, Kate
(2013) Safe storage of water? Go
underground. The New York Times, May 1 2013. Retrieved on 28 August 2015
at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/business/energy-environment/02iht-green02.html>.
Kombrink, H., ten Veen, J.H. and Geluk,
M.C. (2014) ‘Exploration in the Netherlands 1987-2012’, Netherlands
Journal of Geosciences, Volume 91: 403-418.
Ministry of Economic Affairs (2013) Natural Resources and Geothermal Energy in
the Netherlands. Annual Review 2012. The Hague: Ministry of Economic
Affair. Retrieved on August 28 2016 at: http://nlog.nl/resources/Jaarverslag2012/Delfstoffen_2012_UK_final_NLOG.pdf.
Van Heekeren,
Victor, Snijders, Aart, Harms, Hilke (2005) The
Netherlands Country Update on Geothermal Energy. Paper delivered at World
Geothermal Congress 2005. Antalya, Turkey 24-29 April 2005. Retrieved on28
August 2016 at: https://www.geothermal-energy.org/pdf/IGAstandard/WGC/2005/0171.pdf.
* Introduced here is an article written by one of KEI's environment correspondents. KEI invites students studying abroad and researchers working for foreign research institutes to send articles on various global environmental issues.
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