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Fit for 55
“We have been quite lazy in the Netherlands.”
By: Bénine Buijze
The European Union has set out to be climatologically ‘fit for 55’. It aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 55% in 2030 and be completely carbon neutral by 2050. With the ‘Fit for 55’ package, the EU proposes to update and revise European legislation that stimulates new, sustainable initiatives and accelerate its transition to becoming climate neutral. However, each European country faces different challenges. National organisations like Fedet take on an important role when it comes to implementing European policy on a local scale.
Anne-Jaap Deinum is managing director of Fedet, the Dutch federation for electrical engineering. The organisation represents manufacturers, wholesalers and agencies in electrical technology by means of advocacy, business development and via projects. Fedet plays a big role in the Dutch chapter of Europe’s transition to renewable energy. “People are talking a lot about possible solutions, without knowledge of the engineering behind it. All the solutions in the energy transition are technological, so you need a fitting background to facilitate this shift. My goal is that the electrical manufacturers, but also construction companies, are serious partners throughout this upcoming energy transition.”
Deinum feels it’s the responsibility of organisations like Fedet to involve all Dutch citizens to get on board with the upcoming shift to renewable energy. But that’s a challenging job when talking about such an abstract subject. “You need certain knowledge to understand what is happening and I find it Fedet’s job to simply explain what is needed up until 2050 and thereafter.”
Overflowing pool
An issue that Deinum knows to explain quite clearly is the congestion on the Dutch energy network. It’s a big problem that the Netherlands is challenged with when it comes to reaching the European Union’s climate goals. To make the problem easily understandable, Deinum uses the analogy of filling a swimming pool. “You have a swimming pool without any water and you use a hose and fill it. There’s a drain on the bottom, so water can leave the pool if necessary. What’s currently happening is that there is not one, but two hoses filling the swimming pool, but you only have one drain. So, the water level is rising and rising and finally the pool is full and it will overflow. This is what’s happening on our electricity network. We have multiple sources filling the network, like solar and wind energy, and also still coal. And we don’t have the flexibility - to use the analogy of the swimming pool - to add another drain.”
The congestion of the energy network is a big obstacle in the Dutch energy transition. But how could it have come to this? Ever since the Second World War, we’ve been working with our electricity network in the same way. While the world around us changed drastically. Now that people generate electricity at home via solar panels, electricity does not only enter consumer’s houses, but also leaves the hub to be stored and distributed again. “It has not always been like this,” Deinum explains. “We have built our current electricity network in the past seventy years and we’re expecting to reach the 2050 EU climate goals with methods that are over seventy years old. That’s unrealistic. We only have seventeen years to prepare our electricity network to facilitate a quadruplication of our energy use.”
But what about other European countries? “There are quite big differences in how far along countries are in their transition to zero emission and what they have and have not yet achieved. Scandinavian countries, Austria and Switzerland for example have made use of hydropower for a long time, which is zero emission. They don’t have to change as drastically as we do. In the Netherlands we have been quite lazy using our natural gas and depending on coal.” But there are also countries close to home that have quite some steps to take, just like the Netherlands. “I was in Belgium the other week and was impressed that all the lights on the freeways were LED lights. But when I was recently talking to my Belgian colleague the other day he told me that only 20% of buildings in Belgium have LED. So, they have a way to go in other aspects of the transition. Still, I was impressed with the LED-switch on the freeways, which the Belgian government managed to carry out in two years’ time. We should be able to do that in The Netherlands too.”
Photo on the right: a typical example of old conventional lighting
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We expect to meet EU climate targets by 2050 with a power grid that is over 70 years old
Let there be LED
Whilst updating the Dutch electricity network to answer to modern demands, Deinum is a big proponent of switching to LED lighting. This is a quick and easy solution to reduce our carbon footprint and greatly reduce energy consumption. “Fedet | NLA started a campaign, ‘Met LED kan het!’, which translates to something like ‘With LED, we can do it!’. Our goal is to show the public in the Netherlands the possibilities of LED. Most of the time, we think it’s common knowledge, but our experience is that there are still a lot of buildings with conventional lighting.” According to Deinum, this has to do with the fact that becoming carbon neutral as a country or continent is not only a technological transition, but also a socio-cultural and an economical change. “When considering switching to LED within a company, a financial controller looks at the numbers and will ask: what’s my payback time? What’s the return on this investment? For lighting, the economic lifecycle is 10 to 15 years. So, why would they replace the current lighting if it’s still good? It’s easier to change one light than switch to an entire new system. That’s how people think. But when you really take a look at the numbers and consider sustainability and the quality of light, then you should immediately switch to LED. When the entire Netherlands would switch to LED, we will save 6.5-Terawatt hour. That’s the equivalent to one nuclear power plant in the Netherlands. So yes, my message is clear: change to LED. As soon as possible.”
Dutch companies who are considering switching to LED can find more information to make a decision at www.metledkanhet.nl
Photo on the left: Same car park with energy-efficient LED lighting. Less energy. Higher comfort.
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“With LED we can do it!”
Curious about Anne-Jaap's whole story? Anne-Jaap Deinum (FEDET) tells about the energy transition
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