We have to get rid of Russian gas as soon as possible, was the message from Brussels at the beginning of this week. The European Commission came up with a plan to get two-thirds less gas from Russia before the end of this year, and within eight years those imports must be reduced to zero. What does that mean for the Netherlands? Can we also get off the gas faster here, if we have to?
The Climate Agreement states that 1.5 million homes must be free of gas by 2030. In 2050, the gas tap will be completely closed. To investigate the best and fastest way to do this, the government started an experiment in 2018 with 50 ‘testing grounds’ throughout the Netherlands. Today it was announced which 14 municipalities will receive more money from the government to start such a testing ground for a natural gas-free district.
“Given the current developments, we desperately need sustainable energy sources,” said Minister Hugo de Jonge. “Certainly now we must accelerate the achievement of the climate goals and ensure that the Netherlands is ultimately no longer dependent on natural gas.”
There is great interest in a testing ground: 47 municipalities submitted an application for the new selection round. Many municipalities are opting for a step-by-step approach. Hybrid heat pumps and insulation of homes are seen as an interim solution to completely natural gas-free.
No hassle behind the front door
Inquiries at a number of pilot projects, where experience has already been gained in recent years, have shown that interest in natural gas-free living has clearly increased due to the war and higher gas prices. Until now, it turned out that making neighborhoods gas-free is not easy. Practice is more unruly than expected, especially because customization is required everywhere, concluded the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency already. And even now, various project leaders of natural gas-free neighborhoods say that more is needed for a rapid large-scale transition to natural gas-free.
Lucien van der Plaats, for example, is project leader of the living lab in Sliedrecht-East. He has been trying to convince residents there for four years to switch to a heat network that the municipality has installed together with a waste processing company. With cautious success: this week an entire flat with 1000 homes will be transferred to the heat network. The initiative came from the housing association. Willingness increases if you make a collective offer, says Van der Place, so that you relieve people of worries and arrangements.
A problem remains the resistance among residents who own their own home. For many alternatives to natural gas, measures have to be taken in-house. “People don’t feel like fussing behind their front door,” he says. “They prefer to leave it as it is.” They are now going door-to-door at the private homes in their neighbourhood. Very intensive, because it takes a lot of time, but the conversations are getting better and better. Van derplaats: “The high gas prices work to our advantage.”
Missing out on subsidies
And then there remains another major barrier: money. Subsidies are available for the switch in the living labs, where participants pay a maximum of 2000 euros. But if people have to pay for it themselves, it is very expensive, about 20,000 euros per home, says van der Place. “If the government wants to do this on a large scale, they have to take over the financing.”
The problems are very different in the Nieuwolda/Wagenborgen testing ground in Northeast Groningen. The intention there is that residents will switch to biogas. The digester with which 1500 households can be supplied with green gas is already there.
However, it currently does not produce green gas, but electricity. “If the entrepreneur switches from electricity to biogas, he runs the risk of missing out on subsidies and losing money,” says project leader Johan Duut.
Energy Saving Tips
According to him, the enthusiasm among the residents is good, especially since the enormous rise in gas prices. “First we had to pull people’s sleeves to get attention for the project, now they come to us asking for energy saving tips”.
An additional incentive could be to lower the energy tax on sustainable gas, which is now the same for green and natural gas. Duut estimates: “If you remove these obstacles, it can go very quickly”.
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