Rotterdam in development

119 R O T T E R D A M I N O N T W I K K E L I N G | 2 0 1 8 THE TREND HAS BEEN SET: FEWER AND FEWER NEW-BUILD HOMES ARE BEING CONNECTED TO THE GAS INFRASTRUCTURE. BUT IF WE REALLY WANT TO CONSIGN GAS HEATING TO THE PAST, THE REAL CHALLENGE IS THE EXISTING HOUSING STOCK. HOW IS ROTTERDAM DEALING WITH THIS? “AS THINGS STAND, THE GOVERNMENT TARGET OF BECOMING GAS-FREE BY 2050 IS A REALISTIC GOAL, BUT WE COULD DEFINITELY BE MAKING BETTER USE OF OPPORTUNITIES TO ACCELERATE THE PROCESS.” he transition to sustainable energy is a broad and complex challenge. It involves living and working, but also mobility (electric cars); sources of electricity, but also insulation and heating. “Until a few years ago, heating hardly ever came up,” says Astrid Madsen, Sustainable Programme Manager, Urban Development Service, Municipality of Rotterdam. Now, gas-free living is high on the agenda. “Making the city gas-free requires an area- specific approach. There will be significant infrastructural consequences,” says Lydia Hameeteman, Energy Transition Project Manager. Both alternatives to gas heating, grid-based or all-electric, require the street to be dug up, and homes have to undergo considerable technical adjustments. “To connect a home to the heating grid, two pipes that are thicker than gas pipes have to be pulled up from underground. Electric heating requires special radiators or under-floor heating, both in combination with good-quality insulation. And you need a different cooker.” BALANCING “Simply making the heating sources – electricity and heat – sustainable cannot make Rotterdam completely self-sufficient on its own; no city could achieve that. Sun and wind vary a lot across the seasons, and there can also be significant differences from day to day,” Madsen explains. Power-to-heat technology and battery storage can compensate for peaks and troughs. “But a balance between supply and demand can only be guaranteed at a regional level.” This is why Rotterdam is collaborating within the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam and The Hague (in Dutch, MRDH) to develop a source strategy. THREE OPTIONS The city is one of the 30 municipalities that have signed the Green Deal for Gas-free Neighbourhoods, together with the central government. This was followed by a pilot intended to find the best and most cost-efficient way to make an existing neighbourhood gas- free. The pilot estimated the costs of three options: 1) all electric, 2) heating grid, 3) a combination of both. “A total switch to the heating grid is the cheapest solution for this neighbourhood,” says Hameeteman. However, this is much easier to realise for blocks of flats with communal heating than for homes at ground level. STAKEHOLDERS “In an area-specific approach to the heating transition, you have to deal with a variety of stakeholders – corporation(s), private owners, tenants, energy companies, the grid manager – and you have to get them all onto the same page,” Madsen explains. “If everyone focuses on their own best outcome, you get nowhere, so you have to find a solution that’s fair to all parties.” The next challenge is to convince residents of the value of switching. “The perspective is that gas is becoming more expensive, that it has to happen at some point, so why not join in now? The benefits are largely social, such as cleaner air and fewer greenhouse gas emissions, but not all citizens attach the same value to that.” A corporation has to have the support of 70% of the residents in order to be able to begin a large technical installation or structural renovation. KILLING TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE The area-specific approach brings not only economies of scale, such as lower costs per home, but also the possibility of killing two birds with one stone. A scheduled replacement of sewage or gas network infrastructure, or a large restructuring project, is an especially good