Rotterdam in development

120 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 opportunity to lay pipes for the heating grid or to reinforce the electricity grid. WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF NOW It is impossible to predict how the energy and heating transition will turn out. “We don’t have the luxury of being able to wait for developments; we have to get started with the knowledge we have now.” However, innovations can move quickly. Two main pipelines run from the AVR in Rotterdam, bringing excess heat to the city, but the port industrial complex still has a lot of excess heat to spare. Efforts to achieve sustainability, to which the port also contributes, do not mean that heat will become scarcer, Madsen and Hameeteman argue. A more bio- based industry will still produce heat. 40 KILOMETRES PER YEAR Gas-free construction is on the rise in new-build homes, and people are becoming more aware of the way things are moving. Smart buyers are choosing not to buy a new house that is connected to gas. But new-build projects make up only 10% of the total buildings switching to gas-free neighbourhoods. Rotterdam is working to achieve the current government target of completing the transition to gas-free neighbourhoods by 2050. That will involve 8,000 homes each year, or 40 km of infrastructure. Madsen: “We want to do it well and cost- efficiently and make it affordable for everyone, whilst combining multiple objectives. It is not Astrid Madsen, Sustainable Programme Manager, Urban Development Service, Municipality of Rotterdam