A newly installed "Green Gas" filling station in Amersfoort, gas supplied by OrangeGas.
Subsidies assist in development of stations
In the Netherlands, national coverage of stations with alternative fuels is approaching. The NL Ministry of Transport and Water has provided an update of subsidies made available through the Alternative Fuels Filling Station program (TAB – Tankstations Alternatieve Brandstoffen). Almost 3.6 million Euros in grants have been made, to provide fill points for natural gas, ‘green’ gas (biomethane), ethanol (E85) and biodiesel (B30), with the vast majority (53) going to natural/green gas.
The 53 green gas fill points are in Groningen (5), Friesland (2), Drenthe (3), Overijssel (5), Gelderland (10), Flevoland (1), Utrecht (1), Noord-Holland (10), Zuid-Holland (5), Noord-Brabant (6) and Limburg (5). See here for the most recent overview of current and planned natural/green gas station locations, 144 in total as at June 2010.
Policy
The TAB subsidy program fits within a “Clean and Economic” action program, in which the government describes its ambitions to make the Netherlands one of the cleanest and most economic energy countries in Europe. “Clean and Economic” activities, directed at sustainable auto mobility, are bundled together in the program “Drive the Car of the Future”. The subsidy program makes its clean and economic contribution through improvement of the availability of natural gas/green gas, E85 and B30.
"Here is a natural gas / green gas filling station" - OrangeGas now has 11 of its 20 planned filling stations operational.
The program, which will also help reduce the Netherlands dependence on fossil fuels, will further stimulate the uptake of natural gas vehicles, which has until now been lower than expected due to limited infrastructure.
Information
More information about the grant program is available here. For more information about driving on clean fuels, vehicles and stations, visit www.fuelswitch.nl.
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