SPOTLIGHT ON THE NETHERLANDS
FEATURE SPONSOR
LOCAL GENERATION FOR LOCAL USERS – A NEW MODEL FOR RIVER ENERGY
Renewable energy innovator BT Projects holds a special position in the Dutch marine energy sector
The company, formed in 2014, supports developers of emerging solar, wind and marine energy technologies and is the driving force behind the country’s Tidal Technology Center (see story elsewhere in this issue).
RETHINKING BUSINESS MODELS Just as significant, though, is the work BT Projects is doing on rethinking business models, with river energy a good example. Rather than trying to interest the major utility companies, BT Projects advocates local generation for local users, based on cooperative-based financing, ownership and operation.
“One of our goals is to build the social aspects around renewable energy,” explained Menno Broers, MD of BT Projects. “River energy projects (in The Netherlands) are small scale and so most logically focused on local energy needs. These kinds of projects fit better with cooperative ownership.”
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS Local involvement can also help accelerate the industry in other ways, he says: “We see growing concerns about hydropower and fish mortality and it is true that the old dams and old river
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energy systems are very unfriendly for fish.” Menno continued: “However, we also know that it is possible to create fish-friendly turbines and installations – but people need to see them to be convinced. Small-scale, cooperative projects can demonstrate that it is possible, which can further help to accelerate the industry as a whole.”
THEORY TESTING
These theories will begin to be put to the test in 2018 with the start of two river-energy hydropower projects, in the Dutch towns of Doesburg and Tiel. In Doesburg, two five-metre-wide turbines will be placed in a weir in the Oude Ijssel river. These fish-friendly turbines are expected to produce 250KW each,
enough to power 500 homes. The Tiel project foresees placing a turbine in a sluice in the Amsterdam-Rhine canal. This will provide power to 800 homes in the surrounding area.
These projects, along with the opening of the Tidal Technology Center plus others exploring energy storage, offshore tidal and new wind and solar technologies, promise to make 2018 an exciting year for BT Projects and Dutch renewables.
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