The power network in West Friesland is becoming full in more and more places. Hoorn has now also been added, because the distribution stations on the Holenweg and Geldelozeweg have reached their limit. And that means that ‘new large users’, such as supermarkets, bakeries, (large-scale) catering establishments and industrial estates, cannot settle in Hoorn.
First the good news: the current capacity remains guaranteed. Everyone still gets electricity and the generation of electricity by solar panels and windmills is also not experiencing any problems, the grid operator writes.
Entrepreneurs and (new) companies are especially affected. Entrepreneurs who now submit an application for extra capital will be placed on a waiting list. This applies to Hoogwoud, Wognum, Schellinkhout, Zwaagdijk, Wijdenes and Berkhout. Sufficient capacity has been reserved for housing that is already on the schedule.
Spokesperson Peter Hofland of grid operator Liander explains: “At the moment, capacity has been reserved for all housing projects known to us. But plans that we do not know, there is a problem there. We cannot promise that before 2028.” He does, however, make one caveat. “On the other hand, it will take quite a while before new housing plans come to fruition. So I can’t say whether it will really cause major problems for housing in those six years.”
Pressed net
The fact that the power network in West Friesland has reached its limit (due to crowds) is partly due to a fast-growing economy, digitization of society, the energy transition and the construction of homes. As a result, the largest electricity station Westwoud in Zwaagdijk-East is on its border, and the distribution stations at Holenweg and Geldelozeweg are now being added.
Text continues below the card:
In addition to expanding, also working smarter
Liander is busy expanding the electricity grid, as it construction of six new distribution stations. This could take until 2030, because building a new station takes about 5 to 8 years. But according to Hofland, we also have to rely on smart solutions. “We can’t simply lay more cables everywhere. In Friesland, for example, we have now found companies willing to reduce their consumption at peak times, they receive a compensation for that.”
It is not the case that capacity is no longer available all day, but only at certain times. “So if we can reduce consumption at those times, there will also be room to connect new large-scale consumers. That was previously difficult to achieve due to certain regulations, but that has now been resolved.”
The spokesperson’s message: “We are expanding the electricity grid, but we also have to use it smarter and more efficiently. We are now also going to investigate this in West Friesland.”