Wind turbines, solar panels, batteries. We are producing, consuming and distributing energy more locally. This offers opportunities to solve challenges like energy poverty. “But if we want to create just, fair, and successful energy hubs, we must make them understandable and relevant for everyone,” says researcher Abhigyan Singh.
We are used to taking a backseat and letting big energy companies produce and distribute energy, while we pay the bill every month, says assistant professor at IDE Abhigyan Singh. But in the new reality of locally produced energy, people have a chance to take the steering wheel.
A good example is the growing popularity of so called ‘energy hubs’. In short, in an energy hub different parties such as residents, infrastructure, and businesses, come together to collaborate on energy production, storage, exchange, and consumption.
Understandable and relevant
“An energy hub could be a vehicle to address issues like energy poverty”, explains Abhigyan. But for this to happen, residents first need to get organised. In a cooperative for example, where they join forces. And this is the tricky part. “In the debate about energy hubs, the focus lies too much on the technical and financial aspects. Infrastructure, big companies, high-level energy jargon. All factors that people don’t really understand. If we want to create just, fair, and successful energy hubs, we must make them understandable and relevant for everyone.”
In the debate about energy hubs, the focus lies too much on the technical and financial aspects. Infrastructure, big companies, high-level energy jargon. All factors that people don’t really understand.
Abhigyan Singh and PhD candidate Gijs van Leeuwen are involved in the Local Inclusive Future Energy (LIFE) project in Amsterdam. LIFE aims to develop grid-friendly and community-inclusive innovations that contribute to the energy transition, with a focus on the southeast of part Amsterdam.
Southeast Amsterdam is home to famous venues like the Johan Cruyff Arena and Ziggo Dome, along with many office buildings. About 200 meters northeast of this area, there is Venserpolder, a residential area where people from 170 different nationalities live together. They are struggling with socio-economic challenges, including energy poverty.
Playful and relaxed
“For the past three years, we have been engaging with the residents of Venserpolder in a playful and relaxed way. This way we get to know the world they live in, their needs, values, social interactions and dynamics. Together we are co-creating an energy cooperative, making the residents a full-fledged partner in the energy hub being created in this area.”
For the past three years, we have been engaging with the residents of Venserpolder in a playful and relaxed way. This way we get to know the world they live in, their needs, values, social interactions and dynamics.
“We were able to reach about 80 residents so far with our co-creation workshops and participation in local activities”, adds Wouter Methorst. Wouter is part of the CoForce foundation, which aims to accelerate the transition towards clean energy. CoForce helps to involved the residents of Venserpolder. “To achieve good cooperation with residents, we need to invest a lot of time in building trust.”
Energy is a technical and complicated subject. This is why we use Lego, for example, to make it clearer how an energy hub works. Where does the energy come from? Where does it go? How can you use it smartly with other partners in the area? We discuss these issues with residents.
Gijs van Leeuwen: “Energy is a very technical and complicated subject. This is why we use Lego, for example, to make it clearer how an energy hub works. Where does the energy come from? Where does it go? How can you use it smartly with other partners in the area? We discuss these issues with residents. How do they see this? What are their wishes for their cooperative?”
The complexity of an energy hub is being explained in a relaxed way through LEGO. Visualisation on the left by Spectral Energy.
"We are exploring the possible uses of the energy cooperative”, concludes Abhigyan. “It can, for instance, organise the installation of solar panels on the roofs of the apartments to secure cheaper energy for the residents. It can also collaborate with the Johan Cruyff Arena for exchanging energy. Ultimately, we hope to create an energy cooperative for the residents that is self-sustaining, beyond the LIFE project, and becomes a legitimate actor in the energy ecosystem in this area."
Hans Roeland Poolman (AMS Institute): “It’s all about getting organized”
The LIFE project is an initiative of a project consortium of 12 partners, including AMS Institute. Hans Roeland Poolman is project lead of stakeholder engagement in the ArenAPoort area and assessment of the long term impact of the project. He says: “The current utilization of the national transmission grid and the local distribution grids are at their limit, so energy capacity is the biggest issue to tackle. Sharing energy and capacity on a local scale, like in the Amsterdam Southeast area is considered to be a solution. But for this to work, we first need to get collectively organized to allow smart sharing of local energy assets.”
“There is an infrastructural and a social component to the LIFE project. Abhigyan and Gijs focus on the social component: how do we involve residents and convince them of the added value of working together? We focus on the infrastructural component. With stakeholders like Johan Cruyff Arena, Ziggo Dome and other companies in the neighbourhood. How can we generate energy locally? How do we store and share it? For all these matters we need a way of working, rules and regulations. And show stakeholders that it is good for them to work together in this hub, instead of making their own plans. Because the bottom line of all these stakeholders is: ‘what is in it for us?’. We are working on answers to these challenges.”
"The 'global north' and 'global south' are idioms that blind us from the fact that there are 'norths' in the south and there are 'souths' in the north."
