& the Wind
In 2050, all the energy we use must come from renewable sources like wind, water and sunlight. To achieve the climate targets, the Netherlands really has to get moving: in 2020, only eleven percent of the total energy consumption was sustainable.
The Afsluitdijk has all the elements required for the energy transition in its immediate vicinity. It is often exposed to strong winds, the light intensity is high and the combination of fresh and salt water offers opportunities to experiment with different forms of sustainable energy.
How does the Afsluitdijk contribute to the energy transition?
Around the Afsluitdijk, sustainable energy is generated in various ways. On the IJsselmeer, by means of the new Windpark Fryslân. In addition, Rijkswaterstaat aims to make the dyke energy neutral; the dyke must yield as much as it uses. To neutralise the energy consumption of the pumps at Den Oever, as a final piece of the project, a solar farm will be installed.
The Afsluitdijk is also a testing ground for sustainable and innovative energy technology. On and around the dyke, various pilots were carried out, for example generating energy with running water. The testing ground flourished until the renovation activities took over all the space. Experiments like Solaroad, a concept which converts sunlight on the road surface into electricity, and an Off Grid Test Centre for managing sustainable energy were cancelled for various reasons. The Blue Energy Test Plant at Breezanddijk is still in use.
How a small Frisian village wants to play a crucial role in the energy transition
In the National Climate Agreement, it is settled that in 2030 seventy percent of all the electricity must come from wind turbines and solar energy. Most Dutch people support wind turbines. Somewhere else, that is. Not in their own neighbourhood. But the inhabitants of Tzum do not have this Nimby attitude. After a five-year battle, they finally reached their goal: they will have a wind turbine in their back yard.
‘It's our principle to keep benefits, burdens and control together.’
Govert Geldof,
chairman Stichting Mast
This village was once one of the pioneers. As early as 1994, they installed a wind turbine just outside their village. When you stood under its vanes, you could no longer hear the godwits in the field, but hardly any Tzummers complained about the noise or landscape pollution, says Govert Geldof, chairman of Stichting Mast. Every vane rotation of the village mill yielded money for the community. 250,000 euros, all in all. Govert recounts: new playground equipment, lights for the church tower, a jubilee present for the soccer club, an interest-free loan for the tennis club, and the community centre looks fabulous now. Moreover, the villagers could apply for subsidies for sustainable investments like solar panels or cavity wall insulation.
When the village mill was torn down in 2016, they immediately made plans for a new mill; a higher one, with a higher return. ‘Nobody wants a turbine in their backyard, but if they get something in return, it’s a different story,’ Theo van der Woud says, a neighbourhood ambassador who went from door to door to ask his fellow villagers if they wanted to become co-owners of the mill. These members can decide where the profits, an estimated 50,000 euros a year, will go to. ‘The village will benefit, not Sweden,’ says Marte Stekelenburg, who moved from Amsterdam to Tzum. ‘That’s a world of difference.’
To turn the dream into a deed, the village had to be patient. Village mills initially did not fit the province policies; they had to apply for subsidies and wade through a lot of paperwork. But in the spring of 2022, Tzum will finally get their windmill.
How it works: To finance the purchase of the mill, some 1.2 million euros, Tzum uses the Postcoderoos subsidy scheme, provincial subsidies and an interest-free loan that will be paid back from the returns. Meeting the subsidy rules requires five hundred cooperative members. The members are not obliged to invest and do not pay any membership fee. They have an energy advantage, are eligible for dividends amounting to around 50 euros a year and decide which projects and societies the mill contributes to.
Three encounters
Renske Lemstra lives near the Nije Fertier, a playground that was realised with the returns of the former neighbourhood mill. Her sons Ties (8) and Hielke (10) play there every day.
Renske: ‘Tzum has 450 front doors and fifteen neighbourhood associations. Our association has forty households as members. We organise fun things like a neighbourhood barbecue or s street soccer tournament and we go solexing together. When someone has a celebration or is ill, we jointly pay for a bouquet of flowers. When the old mill was still there, associations could annually apply to make a contribution. We miss that now.’
Bert Vollema is an organic farmer. When the village mill returns, it will be within five hundred metres of his farm.
Bert: ‘I was frankly glad the old mill was torn down. All of a sudden, it was wonderfully quiet. Still, I won’t oppose a new mill, now that it’s planned. I like the idea behind a village mill. I don’t want to be the only ‘Nimby’ (Not in my backyard) and ruin things for the whole village. Besides, from my ideology it would be hard to sell. A few years ago, I switched to organic farming; from big is beautiful to small-scale and sustainable. How could I oppose clean energy as an organic farmer?'
On Bert Vollema’s request, the new mill will not be one hundred metres – the maximum height allowed for a village mill – but seventy-five metres. To reduce the burden of a cast shadow falling on his house, the vanes are automatically switched off when the sun is low and shines on the farm.
Simone van der Velde is an active villager. She immediately said ‘yes’ when a neighbourhood ambassador asked her to become a member of the energy cooperation to facilitate the village mill.
Simone: ‘Our whole social life takes place in the village. The children go to school here, our friends live in Tzum and we are members of various local associations. Despite my job and busy family life, I’m active as a volunteer to help the village; everybody has to do something for the community.
‘We use green electricity from a large energy supplier, but you don’t have any say in what happens with the money. Now, it’s clear: I contribute to a sustainable world and the village remains lively. That's win-win.’
89 wind turbines in Lake IJsselmeer
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