Energy Transition in Europe | www.energy-cities.eu

The EU as a whole is aiming for 82 per cent clean power by the end of the decade but some member states are looking to go one step further.

Energy poverty is emerging as a national agenda in the Netherlands. Local authority leadership and action on this agenda, and European Union reporting requirements around the energy transition have aligned to create an opportunity to establish a national agenda on this issue. Early action on energy poverty by local authorities stemmed from their recognition of the value of addressing environmental, health, social welfare and poverty goals through measures to address the problem. In contrast, the experiences of vulnerable energy consumers have limited recognition in national policy. Meanwhile EU requirements for climate reporting include a specification for measuring and monitoring energy poverty. This growing momentum has resulted in an emerging interest in energy poverty as a means to achieve a just transition at a national level, as reflected in the Dutch National Climate and Energy Plan.

Climate activism has become increasingly synonymous with rebellion. International groups like Zero Hour and Extinction Rebellion create images of huge crowds of people protesting and raising awareness about the climate crisis.

Guerrilla gardening is the act of cultivating plants in a public place, usually in a spot that is not otherwise being cared for, often with the aim of improving the surroundings and protecting the environment. It has a range of benefits from improving biodiversity to helping to keep temperatures low.

The five houses of the Milestone Project are being built one after the other so that each new round of construction can maximize learning opportunities from the previous ones. Soon, the project partners will start working on the design of the next building, which will have several floors and, therefore, require further development of the technique.

C’est une première. Amsterdam a annoncé qu’elle souhaitait interdire les énergies fossiles et le trafic aérien sur les supports publicitaires de la ville. Une décision prise après avoir été mise sous pression par un groupe de 51 associations demandant des publicités sans énergies fossiles. D’autres municipalités et l’État pourraient suivre son exemple.

The Dutch city wants “Plenty of space for cycling”

Amsterdam will be the first Dutch city to have a data centre, capable of warming local homes, the municipality announced on Thursday. The Dutch capital has the goal in its sights for its future data centre, which is currently being built in the port area.

Utrecht residents will be able to use an electric shared cargo bike from next spring. The municipality is starting a partnership with the Cargoroo company for a two-year trial with 100 e-cargo bikes. From the spring, Cargoroo will place the e-shared cargo bikes throughout the city, depending on the enthusiasm in the various neighborhoods. The trial is linked …

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Asper Investment Management Ltd. have signed an investment agreement worth €30 million for investments in four district heating projects in the Netherlands. This agreement will enable the EIB to consider additional investments into new district heating projects in the Netherlands up to €70 million.
The EIB financing supports an equity investment vehicle called “Dorothea” that will build a diversified portfolio of projects in various Dutch municipalities. Dorothea was set up by Asper Investment Management, a specialised investment firm, to acquire and build an exclusive portfolio of sustainable district heating projects in the Netherlands. The EIB is joined in Dorothea by four other leading institutional investors and will be a member of Dorothea’s Investor Committee.

The Hague will be investing an impressive 180 million euros towards sustainability, in order to tackle the climate crisis and to create jobs, as was informed on Monday by its municipal website. The amount comes from the sale of energy company Eneco and will go into clean energy sources, storage and building renovations. The goal is to achieve a more liveable city for the current and future generations – a result that should be seen within 10 years.

The city of Arnhem has published a strategy to combat the effects of global warming, which included reducing asphalt by 10 per cent, among other measures.

Aux Pays-Bas, cette ferme flottante ultramoderne et pour le moment unique au monde répond au manque de terres agricoles. Un moyen de faire aussi la promotion de l'économie circulaire et des énergies renouvelables.

The IEA’s report released earlier this year, “Hydrogen in North-Western Europe: A vision towards 2030”, welcomes the fact that the six countries analysed – Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK – have the ambition to build a hydrogen economy. They are Europe’s major hydrogen producers and consumers, have major ports that already service this sector, have natural gas infrastructure that can be repurposed, and access to new offshore wind and carbon storage capacity that can make low or no-carbon hydrogen. But the report’s main purpose is to warn that the current pipeline of projects is not enough to meet ambitions. Policies must be strengthened, with better coordination. The report makes its recommendations, including the development of an integrated regional market, support for innovation and market size scale-up, and the creation of a strategy for new production capacities for low-carbon hydrogen.

Art and culture are the most promising avenues to revitalize cities and neighborhoods. But to succeed as a driving force for lasting and meaningful area development, what do incubators, cultural houses and creative hubs need? In a virtual meet-up with twenty fellow city makers, Rinske identifies tools that city makers, governments and developers can use to help their cities thrive .
The need for ‘money to play with’, the importance of new business models and the need to ‘cast’ the ultimate mix of functions and users. Invite twenty city makers to share their thoughts in a virtual conference, and they’ll give you an abundance of tips on nurturing successful cultural and creative hubs. Because what makes one space a success from day one, while another fails to get off the ground? What are the do’s and don’ts of success?

German energy company Uniper has confirmed its intention to sue the Dutch government over the country’s planned coal phase-out, in what will be the second legal challenge filed against the Netherlands this year under the controversial Energy Charter Treaty.

A forest where every plant is edible will soon appear in the Dutch city of Utrecht, announced the local authorities last week. The food forest of 15,000 square metres will be in the new residential area of Rijnvliet which has itself been designed in 2017 so that each plant in the public space can bear edible fruit.

EU member states are fighting over which type of hydrogen to support, with two opposing camps facing off: those backing green hydrogen produced exclusively from renewable electricity, and those in favour of a broader “low-carbon” definition, which also includes nuclear power and decarbonised gases.

Cyclists and pedestrians will be permanently given more space on the north side of the Erasmus Bridge – wider bicycle lane and more space at the traffic lights. This makes it nicer and safer to cycle and walk on this route. This modified traffic situation has been temporarily tested on the north side of the Erasmus …

Fryslân, a rural region in the Northern Netherlands is determined to become Europe’s most circular region by 2025, Fryslân is becoming increasingly more well known for its unique approach to circular economy. At the core of this approach is the Circular Fryslân Association (CFA), an association founded in 2016 by Frysian companies that felt the desire for a platform where regional developments regarding circular economy could be shared. ‘With the support of the regional government, we started our association with a raw material flow analysis, to see where the biggest gains could be made.’ says Houkje Rijpstra, managing director at CFA.

Initially, CFA focused on the themes of agriculture, construction, food, biomass and plastics, but in recent years has expanded its focus with the themes of water, energy, mobility, education and recreation. ‘We have grown to more than 100 members; 75% of which are companies, the other 25% are all the Frysian governments and knowledge institutions.’ 

As the Brussels region gears up to reform its economy on the basis of the doughnut model, Amsterdam is already taking the leap with its renewed sustainability strategy. In developing this strategy, the city council engaged the now world-renowned creator of this model, Kate Raworth to tailor the model to Amsterdam’s social and environmental problems. What follows is a conversation with Marieke van Doorninck, the municipal councillor responsible for a circular economy, on what doughnut economics will mean in practice for Amsterdam.

Fashion company PVH Europe, whose portfolio includes Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, has installed the world’s most powerful solar roof at its Warehouse and Logistics Center in Venlo, the Netherlands.
PVH said it is the most powerful solar roof that is currently operational and installed on one singular structure.
The rooftop photovoltaic (PV) plant, with a peak capacity of 18 MW, comprises 48,000 high-performance solar panels. It provides electricity for the Venlo warehouse, which is PVH Europe’s main distribution center covering 110,000 square meters, and for the company’s stores, warehouses and offices in the Netherlands.