“We are getting less gas from countries such as Russia and Qatar and are moving more towards local solutions,” says Mark van Harlingen, advisor and entrepreneur in WKO. “The soil in the Netherlands is very suitable for extracting water, because we are in a river delta with sand layers. You can heat large quantities of houses with a WKO. I notice in the field that heating companies do everything they can to build good installations.”
He estimates that from now on, half of all new homes – 35,000 annually – will be connected to a WKO. “The government is also getting involved.”
Emotions run high in Haarlem
The new heating law states that more than fifty percent of both existing and new heating companies must be owned by the government. This should ensure that the monopoly position of a heating company does not lead to higher prices. The government also wants to gain the trust of future users of heating networks. “It is a very efficient technology that is very suitable for the energy transition.”
“Jesus, it’s just going to be -10 tonight, isn’t it? Bunch of clowns’. When the temperature dropped last winter, emotions ran high in the app group of the Schalkstad apartment complex in Haarlem’s Schalkwijk.
