Protesting farmers, construction projects that are forced to come to a standstill and worry in the House of Representatives. You can safely say that nitrogen has a stranglehold on our country. Before anything can be built or made, it must be calculated whether there is ‘nitrogen room’ for it. And those are not simple calculations. Nitrogen calculator Jos Geurts explains exactly what he calculates and how.
About eight years ago, Jos Geurts joined the Rosmalen consultancy firm Kragten. If you had told him then that he would now be working with nitrogen day in and day out, he probably wouldn’t have believed you.
How different is that now. The work of Geurts and his fellow accountants is under a magnifying glass. “Even at parties people now know what I do,” he laughs. Although he admits just as quickly that that image is often not entirely correct. But what exactly does he do?
Let’s first zoom in on why nitrogen calculations are necessary at all. This has to do with the legislation surrounding the Natura 2000 areas. It has been agreed through European laws that we must do everything we can to preserve nature in those areas. Before a construction project can start, it must therefore first be checked whether the nitrogen that is released has no consequences for such a vulnerable nature reserve.
“For us, it starts when a party knocks on our door,” explains Geurts. “These can be companies, but also government agencies such as municipalities and water boards. And even private individuals know where to find us.” Their plans are just as broad as that customer group. “That varies from a large residential area or highway to a simple dormer window.”
Step 1: The nitrogen sources
First of all, Geurts investigates which nitrogen sources are involved in a project. Both during and after construction. “Take a contractor. They use machines, such as a forklift or a loading shovel. Then the question is how much nitrogen those devices emit exactly. It makes a big difference whether you have a ten-year-old diesel machine or a brand new electric one.”
And it is therefore also investigated what nitrogen is still released when a project is completed. Think of a highway, where tens of thousands of cars race over every day. But also on a smaller scale. “In a new neighborhood you also have residents who drive back and forth.”
Step 2: Nitrogen emissions
Once that information is known, the real calculations begin. “I translate that data into the so-called nitrogen emission of a project. In other words: I calculate how much nitrogen is released into the air in total.”
Step 3: Nitrogen diffusion
Handy, but that doesn’t mean you know what those emissions mean for nature. “We use a special program for this, the so-called Aerius calculation tool, which contains the map of the Netherlands. Compare it with a kind of Google Maps. I enter my calculations and then the program checks how far the nitrogen spreads.”
Step 4: Does it comply with the law?
Then it’s Geurts’ turn again. “With the result from the program I can calculate whether it complies with all laws. If so, we have good news for the customer. Then they receive a positive report from us, with which they can apply for a permit.”
And if not? “Then we go back to the drawing board and see if and how we can reduce the emissions of the project. Would it perhaps be wise to write off an old forklift truck and exchange it for a cleaner machine? Sometimes such an intervention can make all the difference.”
Changing policy
Sounds pretty straightforward overall. However, in practice it is often more difficult. “Take that calculation program. This is managed by the RIVM. They set the rules, as it were. But a new version will be coming soon. Then it is possible that a project that was approved on Monday no longer fits within the legislation on Tuesday.”
And that’s not even talking about the policy, which changes every now and then. “Look at the PAS scheme, which was annulled in 2019. And recently, when the Council of State annulled the exemption for construction projects.” The latter decision certainly has a huge impact on Geurts’ work. “It means everything has to be redone.”