A regional public heat company that will deliver heat to homes via tube networks for an affordable price. The province of Drenthe and Overijssel will together investigate whether that is feasible.
For this, the provinces have joined forces with Enexis Groep, Rendo Group, Cogas and Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN). This step is necessary because the government wants to introduce the collective heat law. This bill states that heat companies, such as district heating and large heat transport nets, are now in the hands of the municipalities. Now the owners are still private companies. With the disappearance of gas as an energy source, public heat companies must offer an affordable and reliable alternative.
A heat network is a large tube system underground, with which houses are heated. That heat can be extracted from, for example, geothermal heat or sources nearby.
This is especially a possibility in urban areas. Here, homes and buildings are closer together, which makes it more efficient to generate heat centrally and distribute via a network of pipes. In addition, there are often different sustainable heat sources in cities, such as residual heat from industries, waste incineration or geothermal heat, which can easily be integrated into a heat network.
Drenthe and Overijssel are not the first provinces to investigate a public heat network. The province of Noord-Brabant has been investigating for some time whether a heat company with a public majority stake is financially and legally viable.
The big advantage according to the provinces is the larger scale on which we work. “We have the same goals, that’s why we work together,” says a spokesperson on behalf of the province of Drenthe and Overijssel. “Our private partners are already active in the energy sector. By working together, we think we can create a heat network cheaper.”
There are already some initiatives in Drenthe locally. For example, Housing Corporation Actium is working on a network in the Composersbuurt-Oost in Assen and the Meppeler Wijk Nieuwveense Landen has its own heat network. Research also shows that homes in Assen, Beilen and Hoogeveen may be heated with residual heat from waste processor Attero in Wijster.