Home-grown sustainable energy appears to be not only cleaner, but also more reliable and affordable than foreign sources, says Marc Londo. “To take advantage of these opportunities, we need a new 'Energy Building' and a transparent sector.”
Every crisis is an opportunity, including the current energy crisis. If one thing has become clear recently, it is the importance of domestic production of clean energy. The transition from orange-gray energy (Dutch gas) to orange-green (sustainable energy from Dutch soil) is more urgent than ever. That is why we must organize this new energy properly more quickly. A lot of thought is already being given to the infrastructure and technical system changes. In addition, I would like to discuss the question: How do we build an energy sector that we can be proud of (again)? I will highlight two elements: a new Energy Building and a transparent sector.
“The current high energy prices show what happens when clean energy is structurally cheaper than dirty”
A mature domestic energy sector requires clear agreements about the distribution of benefits and burdens. We had that before gas extraction, in the form of the Gasgebouw. This ensured that commercial companies extracted the gas and that the majority of the benefits benefited all of us. The Gasgebouw is now very run down. But we also need such agreements for the extraction of sustainable energy (such as wind, sun, geothermal energy, environmental energy, bioenergy). On the one hand, they ensure that companies extract energy safely and responsibly, and on the other hand, that part of the revenues reach all of us. The latter sounds a bit awkward at a time when most sustainable energy projects receive SDE subsidies, but the current high energy prices show what happens when clean energy is structurally cheaper than dirty energy. And we have to go there anyway. I suspect that such a new Energy Building will look different. In the Gas Building, all public benefits will accrue to the government, in the Energy Building they will go more to decentralized authorities and to (collectives of) citizen-residents. In addition, there will need to be more space for local and regional customization: an Energy Building with many rooms. The participation range, as set up in the Climate Agreement, already provides good examples of this.
“If you manage a great sustainable energy project, in any sector, open your doors to the public”
A second essential condition is a transparent sector. As citizens, we have been able to afford ourselves for a few decades not to be interested in the world behind the thermostat and the socket. For example, few people know that you can also turn off the lights to save gas. But something that everyone desperately needs, which has suddenly become much more expensive and the supply of which is uncertain, quickly becomes interesting. Just like governments, market parties have work to do to show how our energy is produced, how trade-offs are made between benefits and costs, and how we make responsible choices. This helps to reduce 'energy illiteracy' and helps us to be proud of our orange-green energy. A concrete example: Within a few years, the Open Energy Day must become an unavoidable national monument that is also covered annually by the eight o'clock news. You can help with that now. If you manage a great sustainable energy project, in any sector, open your doors to the public: Open Energy Day falls on September 17 this year.
Also come to the Open Energy Day on September 17, where you can take a look at sustainable energy projects at dozens of locations: https://www.biomassafeiten.nl/events/open-energie-dag-2022/
Author: Marc Lando
Marc Londo is a content strategist at the Dutch Sustainable Energy Association (NVDE) and affiliated with the Copernicus Institute of Utrecht University
Source: Energy stage
