FA C T S H E E T

ACTSHEET Energy
Port of Amsterdam Factsheet, number 2, November 2010
Amsterdam stands out as an energy port. Europe and coun­
tries in other parts of the world have a great need for energy.
Port of Amsterdam is a leader for delivering the raw materials
to satisfy this need. Much of it is fossil energy from oil pro­
ducts and coal. At the same time, the proportion of sustaina­
ble energy is growing in Amsterdam.
Port in transition
Port of Amsterdam’s goal for 2020 is to be
among the top sustainable ports in Europe.
To achieve this, the organisation reserves
physical and environmental space, and
invests in the construction of facilities to
partly reduce the fossil share of the energy
mix in favor of sustainable forms. According
to expectations, by 2020 around 20% of the
fossil fuel will have given way to sustainable
energy.
Energy from fossil fuel
Oil products and coal account for 70% of
transhipments in Port of Amsterdam. A small
portion of this is used to generate energy for
the city of Amsterdam; the major part is for
the European and world markets.
Coal
■ During the past few years, Amsterdam has
grown to become one of the world’s leading
ports for coal.
■ After Rotterdam, Amsterdam is the second
largest coal transhipment port in Europe.
■ Coal represents almost 50% of the electricity
market in north-west Europe. Over the next
20 years, coal transport is expected to increase
because of:
- a continuing need for energy
- rising imports of coal by Europe due to
mine closures in Germany, England and (in
the future) Poland and the Czech Republic;
- the intended construction of new, cleaner
coal-fired power stations in Germany and
the Netherlands.
■ For Amsterdam, this will mean an increase

from 14.7 million tonnes of coal in 2007 to an expected
24 million tonnes in 2020. By investing in intensive
space utilisation, the increasing volume of coal
transhipments can be housed at existing locations,
without the need for additional space.
■ Port of Amsterdam continues to invest in facilities for
the growing transhipment of coal. One example is a
lighter dock ahead of the lock system (at the Averijhaven
in IJmuiden); another, the construction of a
second large lock so that Amsterdam can continue to
receive large ships.
■ Coal is becoming a cleaner fuel through the application
of clean coal technology (gasification). To further
reduce emissions, research is being conducted into
underground CO 2 storage. Worldwide coal stocks are
still plentiful. Moreover, the next few years will see
some of the coal replaced with biomass, which will cut
CO 2 emissions even more.
Transhipments of coal (x 1,000 tonnes)
1995 4,760
2000 11,289
2005 12,597
2009 14,592
2020 24,000 (projected)
Electricity from coal
In Amsterdam, coal is not only transhipped for transport
to the hinterland, 1.6 million tonnes are also used
to power Nuon’s local Hemweg power station. This
coal is transported directly from the OBA bulk terminal
via a covered conveyor belt to the Hemweg plant.
(For production figures, see “Production” in this fact
sheet).
Sustainable transhipment
The coal transhipment companies seek to transport
coal in the cleanest possible manner. They have taken
active measures to prevent excessive dust, such as
using closed-in conveyor belts, spraying the coal, and
covering the coal mounds with a layer of cellulose.
In addition to complying with permit requirements,
Rietlanden/EDF already has a dust monitoring system,
and OBA is currently installing one. This system enables
companies using the facility to take immediate
action if dust limits are exceeded. The system is also
able to predict sudden increases, which means the
burden on the environment is kept to a minimum.
Coal transhipment companies in Port of Amsterdam:
Bulk Terminal Amsterdam (OBA): 1 site
Rietlanden/EDF: 2 sites
Oil
■ During recent years, Amsterdam has experienced
huge growth as regards oil products. It is now one of
the largest petrol ports in the world.
■ Amsterdam specializes in blending petrol, as well as
providing substantial storage for diesel and kerosene.
■ Much of the oil comes from Russia, the UK and Rotterdam.
It is stored and, in many cases, blended, after
which it is transported further to Europe’s hinterland,
or exported, mainly to the United States and West
Africa.
■ Schiphol Airport receives around half the kerosene
it needs via a 16-kilometre underground pipeline
connecting the airport to Oiltanking Amsterdam.
■ Despite the worldwide use of biofuels and electric
transport, the demand for the transhipment of oil
products through Port of Amsterdam and their storage
is expected to continue to grow until 2020. In the
case of transhipment, the projected figure for 2020 is
50 million tonnes.
Transhipment of oil products (x 1,000 tonnes)
1995 7,094
2000 11,207
2005 19,131
2009 35,162
2020 50,000 (projected)
Oil terminals in Port of Amsterdam:
Oiltanking
Eurotank
BP Terminal
NuStar
Vopak
Sustainable energy
Amsterdam expressly offers space for sustainable
energy at the port. Port of Amsterdam makes sites
available for the transhipment and production of
sustainable energy, having all the necessary facilities
for transhipment. With good accessibility by sea and
excellent connections to the hinterland, Amsterdam
is also favourably situated for the receipt and delivery
of raw materials used in the production of sustainable
energy.

Bioenergy
■ Bioenergy is the collective name for energy produced
from organic (plant and animal) material.
Biofuel is a liquid energy (bioethanol and biodiesel)
used as fuel for combustion engines, the raw materials
being agricultural crops and residues.
Biomass refers to the biodegradable fraction of agricultural
crops, agricultural, forestry and similar residues,
and waste. It is used as fuel for power stations.
■ Two biodiesel factories are now situated at Port of
Amsterdam, namely Greenmills and Vesta Biofuels
Amsterdam.
Greenmills’ biodiesel factory intends to produce
sustainable biofuels and green electricity from organic
residues, such as used frying oil, and fruit, vegetable
and garden waste. According to expectations, Greenmills
will convert 100,000 tonnes of organic waste
each year into 100,000 tonnes of sustainable biodiesel
(about 115 million litres) and 25 million m 3 of biogas.
From the biogas, it is possible to generate 5 megawatts
of green electricity, enough to fully satisfy the
needs of 10,000 to 12,500 households. The first part
of the factory will officially begin operating in January
2011, and the rest by the end of the year.
On the south side of the Amerikahaven, Vesta Biofuels
Amsterdam will begin producing biodiesel in
May 2011. Its factory has a flexible design and uses
a wide variety of raw materials, from rapeseed oil to
residue flows. The capacity of the factory is 200,000
tonnes of biodiesel a year (roughly 230 million litres).
Icova waste material management
Icova manufactures some 60,000 tonnes of fuel
pellets from industrial waste, corresponding to the
annual energy needs of some 9,500 households. The
fuel pellets are sold mainly to Sweden, and used there
for city heating.
■ With various market parties at the port and elsewhere,
Port of Amsterdam is discussing the further development
of the storage, transhipment and manufacturing
of bioenergy in the port area.
The port’s annual targets for transhipment are:
2010 2015 2020
Total bioenergy 1 mln ton 5 mln ton 13.5 mln ton
Biofuels 1 mln ton 2 mln ton 3.5 mln ton
Biomass 0.5 mln ton 3 mln ton 10 mln ton
By reaching these targets, Port of Amsterdam will
acquire a substantial share of the market in north-west
Europe for the transhipment of biomass.
■ The port is aware of bioenergy’s downside (food for
fuel and biodiversity), as well as the public debate
on the issue. Accordingly, it is involved in certification
and the creation of quality labels for biomass
and biofuels. One group to which Port of Amsterdam
belongs is Taskforce 40 of the International Energy
Agency, with the aim of creating a sustainable bioenergy
market.
Wind energy
The other form of sustainable energy (alongside
bioenergy) that Port of Amsterdam focuses on is wind
energy.
■ Inside the port area is a large wind farm with a capacity
of 125 million kWh, enough to meet the electricity
needs of approximately 40,000 households. Over
time, this will grow to 80,000.
■ The ambition of the Amsterdam port region is to play
a major role in the development of very large offshore
wind farms. Expectations are that in the next ten or
twenty years north-west European seaports will be
the base for the installation of several thousand wind
turbines. The wind turbines and related components
will be transported in huge numbers from overseas
and transhipped using heavy equipment. In addition,
the components will be assembled in the Amsterdam
region, after which special-purpose ships will install
the wind turbines in the North Sea.
IJmuiden has already been the base for the installation
of two large wind farms, together comprising
120 wind turbines with a combined capacity of
360 megawatts. Through regional co-operation and
harmonization of logistics options, Port of Amsterdam
is developing a common approach to the market in
offshore wind farms.
Energy FACTSHEET

The Amsterdam port region has the following targets
for offshore wind turbines:
2010: 10 units a year
2015: 200 units a year
2020: 500 units a year
Waste = Raw Material
Port of Amsterdam, Municipality of Zaanstad and
Amsterdam’s Department of the Environment and
Buildings Inspectorate have initiated the project
Afval = Grondstof (Waste = Raw Material). What one
company regards as residue flows and waste material,
another company nearby might see as an interesting
raw material or source of energy. With Afval = Grondstof,
Port of Amsterdam intends to give a powerful
boost to an efficient and high-quality recycling of raw
materials and residue flows by companies in the Amsterdam-Zaanstad
port region. Companies that want
to exchange residue can obtain support for project
management, subsidy applications, and location of
the right experts.
Production
Within Port of Amsterdam, energy is produced at different
locations.
Greenmills, Vesta Biofuels and Icova
(see the section “Bioenergy” in this fact sheet).
Hemweg power station
Nuon’s Hemweg power station, cofired by gas and
coal, has a capacity of 1,229 megawatts, enough
to satisfy all the electricity needs of 2.5 million to 3
million households. In practice, this figure is lower as
the plants do not operate round-the-clock (see the
section “Coal”). With the aim of achieving sustainable
generation of electricity, Nuon is drawing up plans for
cofiring approximately 20% biomass at the coal-fired
plant.
City of Amsterdam Waste and Energy Company (AEB)
■ AEB generates energy by incinerating waste, 48%
of the supplied waste being biomass. As the waste
absorbs the same amount of CO 2 during growth as is
released on incineration, the process is therefore CO 2 -
neutral.
■ The power stations have a total capacity of 124
megawatts and produce 1 million megawatt hours of
electricity each year. This is sufficient electricity for
some 320,000 households (75% of Amsterdam’s total).
■ Amsterdam’s trams and underground, city lighting,
City Theatre, Music Theatre and City Hall all make use
of electricity generated from waste.
■ Apart from electricity, the method also produces city
heating for Amsterdam households as well as hot
water. Per home, the reduction in CO 2 emissions is
over 60%. Commencing in 2008 and ending in 2025,
roughly 35,000 homes in Amsterdam-Noord and
Amsterdam Nieuw-West are going to receive city
heating via a connection to AEB, resulting in a future
CO 2 reduction of 42 million kilos. This is comparable
to almost 24 million m 3 gas, or the total emissions of
13,000 cars each year.
■ At year-end 2009, 70 companies in Westpoort were
also already linked to this city heating network. Port
of Amsterdam supports the connection of even more
companies in Westpoort.
Source: Port of Amsterdam, Nuon, AEB, Icova, Greenmills, J&S
Colofon FACTSHEET is a publication of Port of Amsterdam
P.O. Box 19406, 1000 GK Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 523 45 60, Fax: +31 20 523 40 60,
E-mail: marketing@portofamsterdam.nl, Website: www.portofamsterdam.nl.
Port of Amsterdam is a company of the city of Amsterdam.