West Frisian ‘grandfathers’ realize their own heating network for Enkhuizer district

There is a buzz from one of the Enkhuizer living rooms. Neighbors are busy talking to each other in a circle. One drinks a glass of wine, the other a beer. It is the residents of Oude Gouw-Gommerwijk who came together on the initiative of the neighborhood cooperative Buurtwarm Enkhuizen.

Neighbors Ad Verhage, Martin de Boer, Nico Koelman and Rob Kuipers felt the need to work collectively on initiatives that contribute to a better environment. According to them, the urgency to get rid of gas was not yet sufficiently felt by many households.

Own heat network

When they saw that, they sprang into action. They throw letters through the letterbox of local residents, asking those who want to work together on the construction of their own heat network for the district.

Not much later, a bulb farmer reports. those middles Heat Cold Storage (ATES)a sustainable energy supply in which you store heat and cold via a special heat exchanger in the ground and with which you can cool and heat buildings and greenhouses, cools its cold stores.

Because he mainly has to cool the greenhouses for the bulbs and needs relatively little heat, he retains a lot of residual heat. He makes it available to Neighborhood Heat Enkhuizen with the aim of supplying the entire district with energy by means of residual heat. As a citizens’ initiative with little money, very welcome, explains Martin de Boer, who speaks on behalf of the initiators. He dives into the books, follows various courses, searches the web and seeks advice from consultancies in order to realize the plan. “We are just a couple of stupid citizens after all.”

He also submits a grant application under the heading Program Natural Gas-Free Neighborhoods and asks the municipality for permission. The plan is approved and the money awarded. The initiative has now grown into a neighborhood cooperative and approximately 20 volunteers are active. In addition, the cooperative has 115 members. While they are further developing the heat network plan, the group of men is not sitting still and they are realizing a lot of initiatives.

For example, various residents are active as street ambassadors, a resident who knows everyone in the street and who provides fellow residents with information about connecting to the neighborhood heat network. And seven volunteers have been trained to become energy coaches who help neighbours give sustainability tips. The neighborhood initiative has also set up a Fixbrigade. A bunch of handy Harry’s who come to the aid of residents with two left hands. “They can help make the house more energy-efficient with small adjustments. Think, for example, of installing draft strips.”

More social cohesion

“With the neighborhood initiative, we also ensure more social cohesion,” explains Martin. Among other things, by organizing the monthly drinks evenings that are always held in a different living room. “The underlying idea is of course to make more people enthusiastic about our initiative through the drinks.” An energy coach is also present during the evenings. The initiatives of the men are received enthusiastically. In the meantime, the plans for the heat network are becoming increasingly concrete.

In the coming period, Neighborhood Heat Enkhuizen will dot the i’s and cross the t’s. At the end of next year, the trenches will be dug to install the heat network. The first houses can be connected in 2024. “I find it amazing that we, as a couple of idiots, got this off the ground.” Pioneers Ad, Martin, Nico and Rob are in control. Because if you outsource that, the idea goes, you have nothing more to say. In the meantime, the men continue to dream and hope that more people from North Holland will realize a similar initiative.