Major Dutch aviation group goes for renewable energy

All business parts of Dutch company Royal Schiphol Group will be powered by sustainable energy from 1 January 2018.

A 200GWh per year clean energy deal has been made between the Group and Rotterdam-based energy provider Eneco for the next 15 years.

Jos Nijhuis, President and CEO of Royal Schiphol Group, said: “For our new energy contract, we wanted nothing but sustainable power generated in the Netherlands. After all, one thing is certain: aviation can and must be made more sustainable. We feel that the most important elements of this collaboration with Eneco are that all the Schiphol Group airports are involved and that additional sustainable energy sources will be developed in the Netherlands. This will allow our airports to increase their sustainability and offer economic benefits.”

The Dutch company will also be using existing Dutch renewable energy sources starting 2018, and all of the new wind farms will be operational within two years after this.

Schiphol, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Eindhoven Airport and Lelystad Airport will be running on wind energy generated in the Netherlands by 2020.

Form next January, the first new wind farm – Vianen – will start generating energy for Royal Schiphol Group.

Jeroen de Haas, CEO of Eneco Group added: “For the energy transition, it is crucial for the business sector – which is by far the largest energy consumer – to embrace sustainability. Pioneers such as Royal Schiphol Group are consciously choosing new, sustainable forms of production and are therefore setting the tone for others. As a result, they are also helping Eneco Group to invest in wind farms and other sustainable energy sources.”