AMA, Balanced A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
Fransisco Monsalve, Lieke Marijnissen, Sarantis Georgiou, Simin Chen
Beemster Edam-Volendam Heemskerk Wormerland
Purmerend
Beverwijk
Lelystad Zaanstad Oostzaan Landsmeer
Velsen
Waterland
Bloemendaal Haarlemmerliede Haarlem
Amsterdam
Almere
Zandvoort Heemstede Diemen Schiphol Weesp
Haarlemmermeer
Amstelveen Ouder Amstel
Gooise Meren
Huizen Blaricum
Greenport Aalsmeer Laren Uithoorn
Wijdemeren Hilversum
Map 1: Amsterdam Metropolitan Area sources: OpenStreetMap Nederland, (n.d.)
AMA, Balanced A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
Spatial Strategies for the Global Metropolis Students : Francisco Monsalve, Lieke Marijnissen, Sarantis Georgiou, Simin Chen Tutor: Dr. Diego Sepulveda Carmona, Dr. Luisa Calabrese MSc2 Urbanism Q3 2017-2018 Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment TU Delft 3
AMA, balanced
Abstract Based on the understanding that circular economy is a model which pursues to rethink and improve the current linear economic model. AMA Balanced aims to operate a nodular flow that affects economy in all stages of extraction, production, transportation and consumption: Energy. This aim is based on the fact that the analyzed region presents conditions of an unequal level of development, which doesn´t offer proportionate opportunities for every inhabitant. The following proposal explores how a new renewable energy system can be gradually implemented in order to transform the AMA to a still prosperous but more evenly balanced region. Understanding that the transitions to renewable energies is not only urgently needed but it is also an opportunity to correct the efficiency of current economic urban development. This proposal seeks to mark the guidelines a smart grid can stablish for a decentralized network that uses energy and waste as key components to power the AMA Northern periphery to flourish. Key words: Circular Economy, Energy, Space, Smart grid, Economic development.
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
Table of contents: 1 Uneven Economic development in the AMA 1.1 Analysis & Problem statement 1.2 Theoretical framework & Research question 1.3 Objectives & Methodology 2 Vision for the future of the AMA 3 A New Energy system
3.1 Potential of a smart grid 3.2 Potential of biomass from organic waste 3.3 Intervening in the energy system 3.4 Elements of the new bio-based energy system
4 Strategic vision 4.1 Activators 4.1.1 Policy 4.1.2 Spatial Interventions 4.2 Stakeholder analysis 4.3 Regional strategies 4.3 Roadmap 5 Pilot project 5.1 Urban environments 5.2 Upscaling implementation 6 Reflection 7 References 8 Appendix
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1. Uneven economic development in the AMA The AMA is an economic competetive region in the world, however, it faces differences in the region itself. The analysis on the socio-economic aspects of the region shows an economic unbalnce between the centre of the region and the periphery.
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
1.1 Analysis and Problem Statement The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA) is one of the most vibrant areas in the Netherlands and Europe. Home to two hugely important transportation hubs internationally, the Schiphol Airport and the Amsterdam port, the region is deeply entrenched within the global accumulation and distribution of capital. Evidently enough, the region contributes for 19% to the GDP of whole country (CBS, 2016).
the boundaries of two provinces (North Holland and Flevoland) and being home to a total of 2.4 million people (www.amsterdameconomicboard.com), the AMA appears highly attractive for a multitude of reasons. From tourism to employment opportunities, AMA seems to be able to offer something for everyone. Finally, it houses internationally acclaimed academic and research institutions, as well as an attitude towards technological advancement (evidenced by the various tech start-up initiatives), further positioning it at the forefront of global activity (www. metropoolregioamsterdam.nl).
AMA encompasses the city of Amsterdam and 33 smaller municipalities. That is testament to the multitude identities that can be found throughout its geographical span. Located in the North of the larger polycentric Randstad region, spanning across
However, the booming growth of the AMA is not evenly distributed throughout the region, neither within its population. Indicative of this is the fact that the GDP from the economic activity happening within the city and the municipality of Amsterdam
GDP x Inhab
GDP below NL average
GDP x Inhab
GDP below NL average
76.382 €
Netherlands GDP x Inhab
29.163 €
45.294 €
31.610 €
GDP x Inhab
GDP above NL average
42.139 €
GDP x Inhab
GDP below NL average
31.923 €
GDP x Inhab
GDP below NL average
Figure 1: GDP in parts of the AMA and comparison with NL average sources: CBS (2017) 7
AMA, balanced far outperforms that of the other municipalities, cities and villages of the metropolitan region. While the city of Amsterdam`s GDP per inhabitant reaches 76.382 €, areas like the one of Lelystad city attains less than half of it, coming to a figure of 31.923 € (CBS, 2017). Furthermore, the city of Amsterdam presents the highest average income within the AMA. Only comparable with neighborhoods out of Haarlem or around Bikbergen, both of which, though, are home of small groups of people owning detached houses.
lies with the argumentation presented on theories concerning regional development (Burger, M., & Meijers, E., 2012) or economic development (Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C., & Ulgiati, S., 2016), that put forward the idea that decentralized and distributed networks of services and resources within a region are in line with the requirements towards a resilient development, thanks to their capacity of conceptualizing the possibility of failure. Therefore, a more balanced but still prosperous economic model would better shape the region’s future.
The asymmetrical distribution of economic activity prevents some population groups to have equitable access to this growing accumulation of capital. On the same note, asymmetrical development may prove to be a hindrance to the region’s sustainable development in the future. The reasoning behind this assumption
Following this line of thought, the periphery of Amsterdam city emerges as an integral part of any vision that seeks to further sustainable and resilient development. Evidently enough, while the municipality of Amsterdam, as well as Harlememmer and Hilversum, stand out, almost the entirety of the rest of N
Map 2: Bussines per municipality sources: CBS (2017)
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. the region shows signs of over-dependence in a series of aspects (jobs, recreation etc.), deeply engraved in the various cycles and networks that run within the region (commuting network etc.).
in engendering new services and economic and social activities in the region. Finally, AMA seems suitably positioned for this, seeing as it has high potential in transitioning to renewable energy resources in the form of solar and wind power and biomass, as well as exploiting the existing innovative solutions already in place. In the end, the asymmetrical development that was described earlier, gives rise to a whole host of opportunities and necessities in regard to this, with the northern part of the region emerging as both a part in need of our attention, and as a potential candidate for the sustainable development of the region as a whole.
The generation of energy can be contextualized as the driver behind any material (or immaterial) transformation: it is, after all, the prerequisite for all activity. Furthermore, in an epoch where our previous modes of production are contested in light of the finite nature of fossil fuel resources as well their catastrophic effects on the planet, AMA would be at the forefront should it attempt to further and capitalize upon the transition to renewable energy sources. What is more, the way energy is produced, distributed and consumed is engraved on the socio-economic demographics of the region, which means that, as a result, an innovative approach on energy can act as a catalyst
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Map 3: Communting between municipalities in the AMA sources: Van Bree (2017)
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Map 4: Incoming / Outgoing employees sources: Van Bree, et al., 2017
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
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Map 5: Land Value x1000 Euros sources: Van Bree, et al., 2017
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1.2 Theoretical Framework & Research Question
In other words, we sought after imbuing the idea of the closed system and its internal development with the idea of a “system failure”. In their resilience and oscillating systems theory, Odum and Odum (2001, 2006), emphasize that “general systems principles of resource quality and availability force all kinds of organisms to ‘program orderly descent and decession that is followed later by regrowth and succession again’”. Building upon what these authors call “the pulsing system” and departing both from exponential growth patterns as well as from closed system
No scientific foray originates in any kind of theoretical “void”. Similarly, in the processes of approaching the AMA, “reading” it and developing a vision and a strategic plan for it, we built upon a number of theoretical “bodies of knowledge” and reports which require a brief documentation. This section of the report provides a concise review of these “stepping stones”. Contemporary regional planning and design increasingly delves into the possibilities of shifting the models of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. In the case of the research and design report, this line of thought is crystallized in the concept of Circular Economy defined as a means of “promoting the adoption of closing-the-loop production patterns within an economic system (…) to increase the efficiency of resource use, with special focus on urban and industrial waste” (Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C. & Ulgiati, S., 2015). Therefore, the trigger is the very idea of the development processes of systems. It should be noted that while Circular Economy is currently being promoted rather “aggressively” (although that only applies to the so-called “Western World” because, for example, China has been majorly implementing its concepts for a while now), it is hardly the only theoretical approach on sustainable development. It should also be noted that, while in many ways complementary (due to them addressing different aspects of the development processes) they also offer distinct conceptualizations of various facets of the respective processes. As such, their interrelations need be explored: the points of departure, the points of convergence and their shared space. While Circular Economy is referred to as an economic system, it should be made clear that it does not provide an alternative to economy in general (Political Economy can very easily showcase this). Rather what it promotes is a paradigm shift from a model of production, consumption and disposal (the so-called “linear economy”) to a model where the end of one cycle of one process and/or material is, essentially, the start of another. Not to be confused with something so simple, it should be emphasized that it includes a wide array of concepts, tools and methods. However, in order not to be completely “trapped” into the idea of absolutely closed systems (an idea that can be associated with the Circular Economy, and, although is not entirely true, theorists have posed it substantially already) a necessity arises for a conflation of meanings in order for said idea to be enriched and fool-proof. The way to do this is, incidentally, simply looking at the AMA itself: an internally vibrant region with extreme ties to outside systems that, actually, promote its position even further.
Figure 2.Theoretical framework 12
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. development, we explore the idea of bringing together Circular Economy and resiliency as the route toward sustainability. According to this line of thought, “more than a trend-based model, CE may rather be considered a way to design an economic pattern aimed at increased of production (and consumption), by means of appropriate use, reuse and exchange of resources” (Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C. & Ulgiati, S., 2015). Circular economy, therefore, becomes a tool, a means and a method toward sustainability, in the sense that it can effectively conceptualize the need to capitalize on the internal capacities of a system as a prerequisite for it to be able to adapt. In a sense, this research and design project hypothesizes and proposes a new regional development system by tackling the basis for it, its foundations and prerequisites. The essence in our case, is the redirection of material flows coupled with the introduction of new transformation processes, all the while focusing on the possibility to re-appropriate the byproducts of human activity (namely, waste) toward other functions. Going further, a mode of production, distribution and consumption in and of itself can mean nothing if it is not applied to real scenarios. The scenario in this case is the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. Consequently, the implementation of Circular Economy, resiliency and sustainability notions in this particular example refers to a regional territory where it is the particularities of regional and territorial development that will inform said implementation. A careful examination of the actual and the emerging trends in the region’s economic development prove that theories on monocentral and polycentral development, as well as those on decentralization and distribution (Baran, 1964), could be an important asset in evaluating the particular subject at hand. Going through scales, one could theorize that the AMA is part of a larger polycentric system (the Randstad), which is in turn part of another polycentric system (the Rhine area) etc, and that itself is also a polycentric system. What is important to be stated however, is that in all those cases the perceived polycentrality is rather limited: instead of a balanced distribution of elements, the condition pertains more to patterns of overdependence. Burger and Meijers (2012) associate the concepts of monocentrality and polycentrality with the relationship between centres. By carefully examining economic evidence from within the region, a very particular picture is painted: while not absolutely monocentral, the region largely revolves around a very small set of centres, all the while showcasing extreme cases of uneven development throughout its periphery and, especially, the northern area (see above sub-chapter). Such an unbalanced distribution of the importance of centres should be mitigated in order for the region to further reach a sustainable status and thus. The most plausible 1. Bélanger, P. (2012)
Figure 3. Theoretical framework 13
AMA, balanced
solution is a functional polycentric, decentralized and distributed regional development. Within a number of approaches that could prove adequate in addressing the aforementioned development trends, we explore one of the most basic ones: inserting into the hypothesis the basis of human activity itself, namely energy. The reasoning behind this decision is quite simple and can be outlined in the fact that by tackling the energy system one essentially tackles human and societal behaviour itself. If this research and design project would follow a ‘barebones’ circular process, such a feat would not have been feasible. However, since the goal is the theoretical inflation described above, a similar shift in understanding of the subject matter at hand is also required. On the one hand, the shift takes place through changing the scale that is addressed: the individual household (and, therefore, the individual citizen) are given importance in this scenario. While exploring urban planning in mega-city-regions, Priemus and Hall (2004) highlight that in contemporary conditions it is the contemporary needs of the respective inhabitants that need to be taken into account and not some vague theoretical framework. Attempting to go even further, our objective in this case lies within empowering the individual. Following their logic, the planning and design actions are to utilized in a way that the very real and concrete human/household is the most crucial element in the equation. Even further, their ideas also highlight the significance to overcome traditional administrative and morphological spatial distinctions: beyond the cities and the centres and beyond normative planning and design, this research and design proposal focuses on the capacity of the individual. In other words, the focus of this proposal is the stimulation of the local conditions. Finally, and on the other hand, our proposal actually seeks out to actively employ concepts of Circular Economy while addressing the energy system and its corresponding infrastructure. Following Rifkin, we propose a new bio-based energy system that is based on biomass extracted from regional organic waste (complemented by other renewable resources) and that functions through ‘smart’ infrastructure. The infrastructure here is employed as the required material mechanism that can actually enable the aforementioned transition and embody in itself the entirety of the theoretical discussion: since infrastructure can be theorized as “The set of systems that support and generate urban Economies / urban Life” (Belanger, 2012), the proposed ‘smart’ infrastructure is to be understood as the prerequisite and precondition for the generation of both new economies of scale as well as of individual agency.
Figure 4. Problem statement and objectives
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
1.3 Objectives & Methodology
set of lenses and through their own essence in relation to the region’s particular characteristics. Being such a vibrant and significant region, the need for this regional planning and design project was to capitalize on the AMA’s position and attempt to promote it even further. As such, the region was approached as a whole and the specific local identities and characteristics were identified and approached so as to strengthen the region in its entirety. In other words, the specific nature of this strengthening is both a result of careful examination of current economic trends and contemporary literature reviews. The route this research and design project takes is to envision a regional structure of the periphery of the AMA through imagining activators from the neighborhood scale ll the way up to region itself. The notion of the “periphery”, in this case attains major conceptual and methodological significance. As does the notion of the individual household, the neighborhood, the district and the city. The important aspect, in that regard, that should also be noted, is the fact that this proposal performs an upscaling planning and design process: after establishing the kind of system that will inform regional relations, the specific manner in which these are employed throughout and within the region starts from the household, the building and the neighborhood. Finally, the report builds upon a particular take upon the notions of Circular Economy. The notions of circularity refer both to the redirection and redistribution of material flows, as well as to (and perhaps more importantly) to the inclusion of actual economy in the equation: the residual streams are utilized to provide possibilities for new activity which in turn will yield new resources, on the one hand, and, on the other, the cycle begins and ends with the household. In this sense, it is so much only about providing efficiency in resource management, but, even more than just that, it becomes about providing societal and infrastructural frameworks for continued and resilient sustainable development.
The objectives of this research and design project lie in stimulating economic development throughout the periphery of the AMA in order to reach a more equitable (namely, polycentric, decentralized, distributed and, thus, sustainable and resilient) regional development. The means to reach said objective lie in the planning and design of a new energy system and the corresponding “smart” infrastructure that follows it. Therefore, a brief mention on the methodology followed needs to be elaborated. The most important element that needs to be highlighted and explained is the particular combination of different elements into one system. The method that was used was a ‘back-and-forth’ between the required outcomes of the proposed system and its requirements, on the one hand, and, on the other, the specific potentials and restrictions posed by the local and regional context of the AMA. It should be noted that this local and regional context had differing degrees of influence in the elaboration of the essentials of the proposed system, however. That means that the new energy system that is proposed as a driver for peripheral economic development takes into account the specifics of the actual place where it will be implemented and, at the same time, follows a logic of its own: the fundamentals of the system were identified by building upon existing research and implementation proposals. Consequently, the most significant methodological aspect of this proposal is the unique merging of two distinct approaches. Furthermore, as was elaborated upon in the previous section, the necessities of strategic regional development were not approached in a void. Rather the direction was informed by established practices in regional planning and design. In that sense, it should be noted that the particularities of the AMA were at the same time identified through an already existing
Figure 5. Project approach 15
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
Figure 6. Conceptioal and diagramatic representation of the project progress
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AMA, balanced
2. Vision for the Future of the AMA The generation of energy can be contextualized as the driver behind any material (or immaterial) transformation: it is, after all, the prerequisite for all activity. Furthermore, in an epoch where our previous modes of production are contested in light of the finite nature of fossil fuel resources as well their catastrophic effects on the planet, AMA would be at the forefront should it attempt to further and capitalize upon the transition to renewable energy sources.
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
2.1 Vision Map What is more, the way energy is produced, distributed and consumed is engraved on the socioeconomic demographics of the region, which means that, as a result, an innovative approach on energy can act as a catalyst in engendering new services and economic and social activities in the region. Finally, AMA seems suitably positioned for this, seeing as it has high potential in transitioning to renewable energy resources in the form of solar and wind power and biomass, as well as exploiting the existing innovative solutions already in place. In the end,
the asymmetrical development that was described earlier, gives rise to a whole host of opportunities and necessities in regard to this, with the northern part of the region emerging as both a part in need of our attention, and as a potential candidate for the sustainable development of the region as a whole.
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Map 6 : Vision map
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3. A New Energy System as a Driver for Sustainable Peripheral Development In order to achieve this balanced yet still prosperous economic model, it is necessary to create synergies that can help the less privileged (Northern periphery) areas become more autonomous. Furthermore, these synergies have to contribute to the self-development of the AMA in general. In other words, an approach that uses basic principles of circular economy (Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C., & Ulgiati, S., 2016) in unison with the principles of decentralized and distributed networks of services and resources (Burger, M., & Meijers, E., 2012), prove to be a valid framework toward said goal. A theme that has the ability to contribute in this route is Energy and, more specifically, its production, distribution and consumption.
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
3.1 Potential of smartgrid
activities in the region. Finally, AMA seems suitably positioned for this, seeing as it has high potential in transitioning to renewable energy resources in the form of solar and wind power and biomass, as well as exploiting the existing innovative solutions already in place. In the end, the asymmetrical development that was described earlier, gives rise to a whole host of opportunities and necessities in regard to this, with the northern part of the region emerging as both a part in need of our attention, and as a potential candidate for the sustainable development of the region as a whole.
The generation of energy can be contextualized as the driver behind any material (or immaterial) transformation: it is, after all, the prerequisite for all activity. Furthermore, in an epoch where our previous modes of production are contested in light of the finite nature of fossil fuel resources as well their catastrophic effects on the planet, AMA would be at the forefront should it attempt to further and capitalize upon the transition to renewable energy sources. What is more, the way energy is produced, distributed and consumed is engraved on the socio-economic demographics of the region, which means that, as a result, an innovative approach on energy can act as a catalyst in engendering new services and economic and social
In order to tackle the uneven development of the AMA by using the production, distribution and consumption of energy as the means to that end, we explore the possibility that the transition toward a Renewable Energies has to offer related to urban economic development.
1
Comunication technology
Energy System
3
1st Industrial Revolution
2
Printing press
2nd Industrial Revolution
Steam engine
4
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Electronic communications
Oil engine
Figure 7: Industrial revolutions
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AMA, balanced and also the only vehicle that can get us out from the Carbon era. On his book the Third Industrial Revolution, Rifkin, manifests how throughout history, great economic transformations occur whenever we are able to make new communication technologies converge with new energy systems. Stating that “New forms of communication become the medium for organizing and managing the more complex civilization made possible by new sources of energy”. (Rifkin, 2013)
In almost all steps taking place to produce goods within society, there is energy involved. There is energy implemented from the point of raw materials extraction, to their transportation, production and distribution. Whether it comes in the form of gasoline to power a chainsaw, or gas to power a factory, energy is a key ingredient in how efficient societies and settlements operate. Consequently, a more efficient energy production system which shifts from finite non-renewable energy sources to renewable energy sources will have a broad impact on most production and consumption sectors.
This falls in line with the approach of deeper integration of technology into people’s everyday lives, as showcased by the defining moments of, what has been termed, previous “industrial revolutions”. Rifkin, explains how the convergence of new energy production and communication technologies played a crucial role on previous industrial revolutions.
This scenario is influenced by the ideas of Jeremy Rifkin, who suggests that a mix between the internet and a generation of renewable energies can be what takes our civilization to the third industrial revolution,
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Figure 8: Decentralization of energy generation
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. how this changed not only the production of goods but also our environment ever after.
In the 19th century the introduction of steampowered technology into printing, enabling the mass production of newspapers, books and magazines. The big information sources changed public schooling setting up the panorama for mass literacy and positively influencing the capabilities of la workforce forever. Once the knowledge started to advance and society head into the 20th century something similar occurred. Following the same structure, a new communication technology came along. This time it was the turn on the one side of electrical communications (telephone, television and radio), and parallel on the other side the oil-powered combustion engine. When these 2 elements converged the mass production of good took the stage, with the Henry Ford´s assembly line been the poster child of this period. In not necessary to say
Nowadays the internet represents the most sophisticated communication system ever created. The fact that it is a product that emerged out of collective development sets it apart from any other previous communication tool. Jeremy Rifkin´s suggestion and the current proposal assumption is that a Third Industrial Revolution could be on its way if cities and governments are able to act and prepare the scenario for the confluence of Internet with cost efficient Renewable energies. Renewable energies also are promising in the sense that after the infrastructure for their capturing is paid off the marginal cost is very low. This means not only that the electricity bill used at the household level will
Energy from waste Already existing Wind energy capture
Solar panels
Geothermal
Sewage 23
Figure 9: Households as mirco-power plants
AMA, balanced be cheaper but that this cheaper energy can eventually be used for the production of different goods and services. Which obviously means a more efficient way of managing capital and therefore of improving economy.
energy should not only be bought by citizens but also generated from their houses, in this way renewable energy becomes a decentralized good accessible for every internet port. The infrastructure that will make this possible is the Smart Grid which is basically an energy network powered by renewable energies that can be monitored or tracked online. (Rifkin, 2013)
According to this smaller marginal cost scenario, new innovative activities and services will have to come into play so as to sustain this scheme, leading to a series of different job and business opportunities, societal networks, cultural and recreational externalities. In this sense, it emerges as the most appropriate tool to stimulate socio-economic development.
The importance of the infrastructure becomes apparent when we realize that it has the ability to connect all the energy producers and consumers in a type of internet-based energy market, where every input and output can be monitored it and, in this sense, becoming a transparent system that reflects how society´s economy is operating.
The way in which the scenario could be set out for this convergence to happen is by stablishing infrastructure that gets Energy available online. This
Figure 10: Control of the smart grid
On the other hand, renewable energies offer bigger possibilities not only because they are better for
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. the environment but because they are available everywhere. It is stated that one hour of sunlight provide enough energy for running the global economy for a year. (Lewis & Nocera, 2006).
or getting energy from the flowing sewage system. In this frame, the building, the neighborhood and the district become the units for a shared generation, distribution and consumption of energy. This new reality results in a decentralized framework of development that, on the other hand, has the capacity to be up-scaled, contributing to the need for deeper network connections within the region going up to a distributed network of services and resources from the local/micro all the way to regional (and potentially national) scale.
Another good aspect that a production system dependent on renewable energies brings is that they change the current centralized model of energy production. Solar radiation, wind and ocean power are forces available everywhere which means that they can be generated or captured at the lowest level. This can not only represent the manifestation of an economic revolution but a social one, using the precise words of Rifkin this mean “Literally and figuratively power to the people” (Rifkin, 2013). If this transition is done properly households could become micro power plants generating energy from different sources like solar panels, geothermal heating, wind energy capture
The dependence of fossil fuels is a trend that will eventually have to end. Therefore, every effort that adds to a better and quicker transition is opportune and necessary. Currently the Netherlands faces a challenge that is taken into consideration for
Non Renewable Non Renewable
Electricity = €0,22/kWh Natural gas = €0,66/m3 Average electricity use household in AMA
Average gas use household in the AMA
3068 kWh/year = €675
1408m3/year = €930
€1605 a year
Renewable
Bio energy = €0,17/kWh Biogas = €0,30/m3 Average electricity use household in AMA
Average gas use household in the AMA
3068 kWh/year = €522
1408m3/year = €422 Non ren ewa ble
rgy ne
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343.055 households in AMA nothern periphery
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Figure11: Saving per mode of consumption sources: 1. CBS. (2018) 2. Amsterdam Economic Board. (2018).
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3.2 The potential of biomass from organic waste
The target for the Netherlands for 2020 is having the 14% of its energy consumption coming from renewable energies. By 2016 the gap is still 8,5% off (Gray, 2017). Making it the country with the biggest percentage off target in the European Union. The difficulty to shift to renewable energies in The Netherlands is no surprise since the availability of empty space is scarce. Comparing the different methods of renewable energy generation, is fair to mention that all these methods need a considerable share of space to be up and running. For example, according to the recently published study “KLIMAAT ENERGIE RUIMTE” (Dutch for: Climate, Energy and Space) by Posad, to generate 1 PJ of energy in one year is necessary to have between 29 to 40 wind turbines with a radius of around 180m minimum for each turbine, or in the case of solar fields the required space goes from 300 to 500 HA (Posad, 2018).
this project. The Netherlands is a country that has developed it´s land almost totally. When we talk about renewable energy generation is fair to say that its implementation deals with the availability of space. (Posad, 2018) In order to understand the European panorama in relation to Renewable Energies (RE), is opportune to take a look at the current RE consumption panorama. The EU general percentage of RE consumption in 2015 was 16,7% while at the Netherlands it was 5,8%. In this context is notorious that The Netherlands is in the back of the pack in comparison to other UE countries in these terms. Evidencing that the transition is not coming easily.
Table 1: Renewable enery statistics
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source: Eurostat (2018)
50 40 30 20
8% off 10
62,65%
consumption of renewable energies in Netherlands is
Biomass
Luxembourg
Malta
UK Belgium Netherlands
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France
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-takes energy out of existing residues -involves waste managment
Figure 12: Consumption of renewable energy produces by biomass in the Netherlands
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sources: ECN(2016)
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. In order to identify the most suitable way to foster this transition, we investigate which resource can contribute the greatest. The statistics (CBS, 2017) show that within the renewable energy resources spectrum, it is biomass (and organic material in general) that takes up the biggest part of the sum, representing the 62,65% of the consumed RE in the country. This falls in line with the need to minimize the effects of human activity on the environment, as biomass is also represented by waste. Finally, the fact that it is a local resource further advances our goal of a more decentralized energy and vibrant system.
29 -40 Wind Turbine
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300 -500 HA Solar field
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100.000 HA Solar field
4.750 Cultivated Biomass HA Figure 13: Energy generation in space source: Posad,(2018)
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AMA, balanced
3.3 Intervening in the energy system The cycles that are selected for this template are: 1. electricity 2. heat 3. biomass (residual flows from organic waste, forest, agriculture, sewage sludge, animal residuals and industrial residuals) 4. wind and solar energy 5. fossil fuels 6. CO2 7. inorganic waste.
In order to try and identify where to intervene the following template is used, it contains the different cycles that relate to the energy processes, used to achieve the aim of the vision. The template takes into account the different stakeholders related to the energy processes and variables, which play an important role. The stakeholders and the variables are linked to the cycles, where the processes show a transition from input to output. The direct relation shows a connection between stakeholders or variables, indicating a relation in the cycle, but which does not transition in the specific cycle.
direct relation
stakeholder
input
output
TRANSITION
variables
port
industry
fossil fuels
renewable energy
trade, commerce, services
housing
mobility
agriculture
organic material
inorganic waste
schiphol
greenport
Figure 14: Template of cycles related to biomass 28
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
port
industry
fossil fuels
fossil fuels
renewable energy
trade, commerce, services
households
renewable energy
trade, commerce, services
households
ELECTRICITY
HEAT
AEB
AEB
agriculture
organic waste plant
wa
ste
pro
ces
sed
inorganic waste
Schiphol
port
industry
agriculture
organic waste plant
wa
greenport
ste
at A
EB
electricity
pro
ces
sed
inorganic waste
Schiphol
greenport
at A
EB
heat
fossil fuels
port
industry
port
industry
fossil fuels
renewable energy
trade, commerce, services
households
renewable energy
trade, commerce, services
households
WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY
BIOMASS
AEB
AEB
agriculture
ele
ctric
h ity,
eat
agriculture
inorganic waste
inorganic waste
ctr
icit
y,
he
at
Schiphol
organic waste plant
ele
organic waste plant
greenport
Schiphol
biomass
greenport
wind and solar energy
Figures: 15,16,17,18: Cycles related to biomass 29
AMA, balanced
import of fossil fuels
port
industry
renewable energy
fossil fuels
fossil fuels
trade, commerce, services
households
renewable energy
trade, commerce, services
households
FOSSIL FUELS
CO2
AEB
AEB
agriculture
organic waste plant
organic waste plant
greenport
CO2
port
industry
import of inorganic waste import of fossil fuels ele
ctric
ity,
port
industry
hea
t
ele
ctric
ity,
hea
t
icit ctr
trade, commerce, services
renewable energy
trade, commerce, services
households
electricity, heat
electricity, heat
households
fossil fuels
y, h
renewable energy
ele
fossil fuels
ea
t
eat y, h icit ctr ele
inorganic waste
Schiphol
greenport
fossil fuels
import of inorganic waste
agriculture
inorganic waste
Schiphol
port
industry
INORGANIC WASTE
AEB
CYCLES
AEB
agriculture
inorganic waste he
wa
at
greenport
ste
inorganic waste
pro
ces
sed
Schiphol
y,
Schiphol
icit
organic waste plant
ctr
inorganic waste
ele
organic waste plant
it ctric ele
y, h
eat
agriculture
greenport
at A
EB
all cycles combined
Figures: 19,20,21,22: Cycles related to biomass 30
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. The conclusion on where to intervene can be made by putting all the cycles in to one graph, which will show the most important stakeholders and variables related to the energy system. It eneable a more indepth understanding of the energy system. In this case it shows that the most involved stakeholders and variables are: renewable energy sources, trade, commerce and services, agriculture, the greenport, the organic waste plants, households and the industry. These stakeholders and variables play an important role in the energy system, and the interventions will take place in the connection shown in the graph below.
import of inorganic waste import of fossil fuels
port
industry
ele
ctr
icit
y,
fossil fuels
ele
ctri
city
,
renewable energy
trade, commerce, services
electricity, heat
households
CYCLES
AEB
inorganic waste ctr
organic waste plant
ici
ty, wa
ste
pro
ces
sed
Schiphol
ele
ele
ctri
, city
agriculture
greenport
at A
EB
Figure 23: Conclusion graph cycles related to biomass 31
AMA, balanced
Current waste cycle The current waste cycle consists of producers of waster and processors of waste. There are two types of waste being processes: organic waste and inorganic waste. The bottomline is that the organic waste is processed at the bioplants and the inorganic waste is processed at the AEB. However, due to poorly seperation of the residual waste, a big amount of organic waste is processed at AEB. This takes away the nutrients from the waste, which the bioplants could use for producing biogas and bio-electricity. Currently there are 3 bioplants in the AMA, these plants are facilities from Orgaworld. Although both waste processing companies produce electricity and heat, an improvement can be made concerning the efficiency of the seperated processing of the waste.
wastewater treatment plant
elec
tricit
y&
heat
residual agricultural waste
53% organic waste 47% inorganic waste
residual household waste
64%
ste
ic wa inorgan
AEB
36% orga
nic waste
urban green residual waste
Orgaworld (bioplant)
services residual waste
industry residual waste
Figure 24: Current waste cycle 32
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
The distribution of waste processing, collection and production is shown in the map below. Each municipality has their own waste collection points, from which the waste will be transported to the waste processing componies. Besides the waste collection, the wastewater treatment plants also produce waste sludge, which is transported to the AEB.
N
Map 7: Distrubution of waste related companies sources: 1. (Amsterdam Economic Board, 2018) 2. Nationale EnergieAtlas (n.d.)
0
5
10
15
20 km
33
AMA, balanced The map below shows the cascading of the residual organic waste flows. Different stakeholders are involved: food banks, supermarket, street food markets, bioplants, Schiphol and greenhouses. By identifying these organic waste resources a new potential of maximazing the energy collection can be found.
N
Map 8: Waste cascading of residual organic flows sources: (Circle Economy, Fabric TNO & Gemeente Amsterdam, 2016)
0
5
10
15
20 km
34
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. Different land uses create different recourses of organic waste. This is shown in the map below, where there are five types of land use are distingiushed: 1. forest 2. grasslands 3. agriculture 4. industry 5. city
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Map 9: Sources of organic waste by land use sources: OpenStreetMap Nederland, (n.d.)
0
5
10
15
20 km
35
AMA, balanced In order to identify the area where we can or cannot intervene an analysis on the restrictions and potentials is being done. It shows limited space which is available. Restricted areas are for example: nature reserves, Schiphol area, Unesco protected areas, etc.
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Map 10: Potential and restrictions of space sources: Provincie Noord-Holland, (2018)
0
5
10
15
20 km
36
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. The greenhouses are important elements in the AMA, with the main focus on the greenport in Aalsmeer. They are potentials of contributing to the strategy. The greenhouses are both producers of biomass and could in some cases use the restproducts of the bio processes.
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Map 11: Distribution of greenhouse areas sources: OpenStreetMap Nederland, (n.d.)
0
5
10
15
20 km
37
AMA, balanced
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Map 12: Projected population growth sources: Provincie Noord-Holland, (2018)
0
5
10
15
20 km
38
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. Elements of the new bio-based energy system
Biomass
Fermentation
Compost Biogas
1. Local digester Biogas
Biogas CHP*
-Local digester (in each district, new added): 1.near the producers:supermarkets, densified area 2.combined with public space -Local digester(in agricultural lands mostly existing): near the agriculture land(farm) -Local biogas to energy plants (in cities, new added): 1.near the consumers (cities) 2.can cover nearly all ‘energy clusters’ 3.near the local digester
Electricity
2. Local biogas-energy plant Biomass Fermentation
-Regional bio-plants (regional, new added ): 1.near the regional agriculture/ grass lands 2.supplement existing bioplants to be evenly distributed in AMA
Biogas CHP*
3. Regional bioplant
Electricity
Waste water
Purification
-Wastewater treatment (regional, existing) expand existing wastewater plants
Fermentation Sludge
4. Waste water treatment
Biogas
Biomass
Refining
Bio diesel
-Biofuel refinery(regional, new added) 1.near the regional grassland in AMS 2.near regional industry area
5. Regional refinery
Dry sludge
Combustion Inciniration
CO2 Electricity
6. AEB
39
-AEB(regional, existing) 1.in AMS 2.expand existing AEB 3.the input should only be dry sludge
AMA, balanced
Biomass
Fermentation
Compost
-Regional digester (bio-hub)(regional, in peri-urban areas, new added): 1.near the regional scale agricultural/ forest/grass/service land
Biogas
7. Biohub
Biogas
-Regional biogas to energy plants 1.near the regional consumers(industry/service) 2.near the regional digester
Biogas CHP*
Electricity
8. Regional biogas-energy plant
Compost CO2
-Regional grassland 1.offer biomass to bio-hub and bioplant 2.absorb dioxide and produce oxygen
Photosynthesis
Biomass
9. Regional grassland Compost CO2
-Regional forest 1.offer biomass to bio-hub and bioplant 2.absorb dioxide and produce oxygen
Photosynthesis
Biomass
10. Regional forest Compost CO2
-Urban agriculture 1.offer biomass to local digeters 2.absorb dioxide and produce oxygen 3.using the compost and nutrient from digesters
Photosynthesis
Biomass
11. Urban agriculture
legend Regional actor
Compost CO2
Local actor
Photosynthesis
Different Process Biomass
12. Regional agriculture
40
Input & Output
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.100
Figure 25: Flows from biomass to the smart grid
41
AMA, balanced
4. Strategic vision For our strategy, we have 2 parts, one is for bio-process, one is for smart grid. For bio process part, we devide bio-activators into 2 levels, local and regional scale, and for smart-grid part, we devide activators to four levels: neighborhood, district, cities and region scale. However, as a system, the bio process and smart grid is actually collaborated and integrated as a system, as you can see from the diagram below, the bio activators are plugged into the smart grid and the functions are combined with each other. In the bio process part, for local scale, we propose in each cities, they basically have their own local digesters and local biogas to energy plants. The input for local digester is the biomass from urban agriculture and bio-waste of each household, the output is biogas and compost(nutrient) by fermentation technology. We propose that 80% of this biogas goes to the local biogas to energy plant, at here, the biogas can be used for generating electricity which woud come back to households as return. The 20% of this biogas is used for heating and then goes back to households. Compost and nutrient are mainly used in urban agriculture land. By the above activators, we want to decentralize the energy generation and make each city can be autonomous in the future.For regional scale, we add 1 new bioplant, 2 new regional biogas to electricity plants, 2 bio-hubs(regional digesters). We keep the function of existing Orgaworld( Bioplants), waste water treatments, we adjust the function and principles of AEB and Refinery. The new added bioplant(in sourthern pheriphery) has both the technology of fermentation and biogas CHP, thus, the input is the biomass from regional agriculture, forest, service and grassland. The new added regional biogas to energy plants(in northern pheriphery) deal with the biogas from biohub and produce electricity to meet the requirement of big consumers. The new added biohubs(in northern pherophery) produce compost and biogas which goes to the regional biogas to electricity plants. Due to this reason, the biohub and regional biogas to electricity plant should be located together especially in potential big electricity consumers. As to smart grid, we start from neighborhood scale, we put electricity storage hub which functions as the main key. Although the main function is electricity storage, it can also served basically as charging points and waste points. We design four types of hubs for four neighborhood typologies in netherlands, which are courtyard, row house, detached house and high-rise house. For expansion area, we mix all these four typologies. Since the requirements and preference is different among these typologies, we propse 4 different function in each hub.(detached house neighborhood: biofuel station; row house neighborhood: community center; courtyard neighborhood: collective garden, high-rise house neighborhood: mix function)
42
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
4.1 Activators 4.1.1 Policy The policies being undertaken through the implementation of the project are briefly outlined as follows:
products once and all the waste generated from them has an indication of how it could be properly disposed. This regulation can be applied for the whole country, and all the producer that aim to sell in the Dutch market have to follow this new regulation.
1) In order to obtain the most out of waste, waste separation is key. For this to happen categories of waste have to be stablished in the form of regulations. The categories can be represented by bag colors.
3) The collective Collection points and the Electricity Storage Hubs should be a linked facility. This kind of facility can symbolize this new model proposed with this strategy.
2) In order to facilitate disposal and separation a new policy has to be stablished for the producers. This regulation asks that the producers label their products how the waste generated from their items has to be disposed. In this way the producers deal with their
Region Regional control center AEB Bioplant Biorefinery Regional biogas to electricity plants
City Control center Transmission Biogas to electricity plants
District
Sub station Transmission Local digester for built area Local digester for agricultural area
Neighborhood Electricity storage hub
Figure 26: Activator implementation in various scales 43
AMA, balanced
4.1.2 Spatial Implementations
Compost and nutrient
Urban agriculture
1
Biogas Local biogas to electricity plant
Local digester Households
Electricity & heat
Compost and nutrient
Regional grassland
Compost and nutrient Regional forest
Regional agriculture
Bio-hub
2
Electricity & heat
Biogas
Regional biogas to energy plant
Smart grid
Compost and nutrient
Sludge
Electricity & heat 3
AEB Households
Waste water treatment
Biogas
Electricity & heat
Regional biogas to energy plant 44
Smart grid
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. By these activators, the new business opportunities, investments and employment will be brought to unpreviledged areas, and then foster regional development. For the decentralized concern, our strategy can help to create sustainable jobs at local level and job opportunity areas created for future generation. Besides, jobs in the smart grid industry are more stable, pay higher wages, and ripple throughout the overall economy by creating demand down associated supply chains and across other service sectors.
We show 5 main processing connections above. The first one is in local level, and the others are in regional levels. 1 Urban agriculture suppl biomass to local digesters and get compost and nutrient in return. Households supply biomass to local digesters and get electricity and heat as return. 2 Regional grassland/forest/agriculture supply biomass to bio-hubs and get compost and nutrient as return. The biogas then goes to biogas-energy-plant and be changed to energy. 3 Households supply waste water to waste water treatment, and get electricity and heat from AEB and regional biogas to energy plant by smart grid. 4 Regional grassland/forest/agriculture supply biomass to regional refinery. The biodiesel station gets the biodiesel. 5 Regional grassland/forest/agriculture supply biomass to regional bioplants. The households get the energy by the smart grid.
Regional grassland
4
Biofuel Regional forest
Regional refinery
Biofuel station
Regional agriculture
Regional grassland
5
Electricity & heat Regional forest
Regional bio-plant
Smart grid
Regional agriculture
45
AMA, balanced Electricity Storage Hub (courtyard neighborhood)
Electricity Storage Hub (datached house neighborhood)
Functions • Electricity Storage hub • Community collective garden • Charging points • Waste collection Energy consumption •medium
Functions • Electricity Storage hub • Biofuel station • Charging points • Waste collection Energy consumption • high
B
HU
B
HU
Figure 27: Spatial activators in the courtyard typology
Waste flow Electricity flow
Figure 28: Spatial activators in the detached houses typology 46
Waste flow Electricity flow
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. Electricity Storage Hub (row house neighborhood)
Electricity Storage Hub (high-rise house neighborhood)
Functions • Electricity storage hub • Community center • Charging points • Waste collection Energy consumption • medium
Functions • Electricity storage hub • Collective garden • Biofuel station • Community center • Commercial street • Charging points • Waste collection Energy consumption • high
B
HU
B
HU
Figure 29: Spatial activators in the row house typology
Waste flow Electricity flow
Figure 30: Spatial activators in the high-rise typology 47
Waste flow Electricity flow
AMA, balanced
Flows (urban districit scale)
Flows (peri-urban district scale)
• Electricity comes from local urban biogas to energy plants, and goes to each households by the smart grid. • Biogas comes from local digesters, and goes to local biogas to energy plants. • Compost comes from local digesters, and goes to urban agriculture.
Collective garden
Biomass processing Biogas & Compost
Recreation
• Electricity comes from local peri-urban biogas to energy plants, and goes to each house by smart grid. • Biogas comes from local peri-urban digesters, and goes to local peri-urban biogas to energy plants. • Compost comes from local peri-urban digesters, and goes to agriculture land in peri-urban area.
Creative industry
HUB
Community center
HUB
Electricity flow
HUB
Courtyard
Green belt Local digester Safe distance
HUB
Green belt High-rise house
HUB
HUB
Detached house
Row house
Sub station
Mobility
Compost flow
Biogas flow
City districts
HUB
AEBAEB
AEB plants
Biogas to energy plant
Residence Waste water treatment
Regional diges
Agriculture land & greenhouse
Sludge flow
Urban expansion
48
Sightseeing agriculture
Recreation
B
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
Flows (city scale)
• Electricity comes from regional biogas to electricity plant, bioplants, AEB, and goes to each household of the smart grid. • Biogas comes from biohubs(regional digester) and wastewater treatment plant, and goes to regional biogas to energy plant. • Compost comes from regional digesters, and goes to regional agriculture. • CO2 comes from AEB, and goes to regional agriculture and forest. • Bio-diesel comes from Bio refinery, and goes to gas stations.
Biogas & Compost Recreation
Collective garden
Sightseeing agriculture
HUB
HUB
HUB
HUB
HUB
HUB
HUB
Electricity flow
HUB
Agriculture land HUB
ster
Green belt
Local digester Safe distance
Green belt
Agriculture land & greenhouse
Sub station Compost flow
HUB
Mobility Biogas flow
Agriculture district
Electricity flow
Control center
Biomass technology center
Bio plant
Transmission Transmission
Residence Transmission
Biogas to energy plant
Regional digester Compost flow Biogas flow
Biodiesel flow CO2 flow
Biomass processing
Densitification
49
City
Figure 31,32,33: Sections of the city, district and region with the flows related to the biomass processes
AMA, balanced
4.2 Stakeholder Analysis
Public sector he public sector the stakeholders are focused on serving their own interests. The stakeholders act more on the local level, but play an important role in participating in the strategy. The most important private sector parties are: residents of the area, farmers in the area, local businesses in the area and the environmental institutions that act against the negative effects of climate change in order to create a more desirable living environment. Industries The industries who might have a positive or negative view on the implementation of the strategy are the agriculture, greenport, fossil fuel industry, bio industry, AEB and Schiphol. Conflicting insentives create tenstion between powerfull industries.
The implementation of the strategy can only be organized by reaching agreement between multiple stakeholders. The most important stakeholders can be clustered in three different catagories: goverance bodies, private sector parties and industries. This reaches from local farmer to the European Union. Governance bodies The government of the Netherlands consists of different bodies, each of which has a higher authority in a particular territory. Within the government, a distinction is made between the national government, the provinces and municipalities. The AMA is a joint venture between the provinces of North Holland and However, it needs to be mentioned that same of the Flevoland, 33 municipalities and the Amsterdam stakeholders in this analysis have a differentiation Transport Region, this organisation does not have Actors within them. For example: the bio industries contain an authority on a specific field, but focuses on the the bio-to-energy plants as well as the organic waste partnership between the different goverance bodies.Private sector Actors collection. Governance
Actors Actors
Governance AMA Governance Governance municipalities
municipalities
Industries municipalities municipalities agriculture
Industries Industries Industries
national government
provinces
AMA
provinces
AMA AMA
provinces provinces fossil fuel industry
greenport
agriculture
greenport
agriculture agriculture
greenport greenport
environmental Private farmers sector institutions Private sector Private sector
European union
national government nationalnational government government
European union European European union union
food industry
bio industry
fossil fuel bio industry industry fossil fuel fossil fuel bio industry bio industry industry industry
local businesses
residents
farmers
residents residents
AEB
food industry food food industryindustry
local environmental businesses institutions environmental local local farmers environmental farmers businesses institutions businesses institutions
residents
electricity companies
Schiphol
AEB
Schiphol
AEB AEB
Schiphol Schiphol
electricity companies electricity electricity companies companies
+ environmental institutions
+ + +
AMA
bio industry AEB
farmers
provinces municipalities
environmental institutions environmental environmental institutions institutions
AMA
bio industry bio industry bio industry
AMA AMA
AEB greenport AEB AEB
agriculture agriculture agriculture
farmers
greenport residents
national government electricity companies electricity electricity companies companies
local businesses
farmersfarmers
INTEREST
fossil fuel industry
electricity companies
agriculture
food
greenportindustry greenport
fossil fuel industry fossil fuel fossil fuel European industryindustry union
provinces
provinces municipalitiesprovinces municipalities municipalities national government nationalnational government government
European union European European union union
Schiphol
INTEREST INTEREST
INTEREST
local businesses local local businesses businesses
food industry food food industryindustry
residents residents residents
Schiphol Schiphol Schiphol
+
POWER
50
Figure 34: Power and interest rate of the stakeholders involved in the strategy
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
Actor
Interest
Problem Perception
Goal
municipalities
Integration of CE principle to maximize effiency in waste processing and transitioning to renewable energy
Synergy between municipalitie to implement CE principles and
AMA
Transition to a renewable energy systems in a dynamic, growing and highly urbanized area has major impact on spatial assignments
International competitive region and less dependent on external energy sources
Strengthen the sustainable energy sector by focusing on innovation and strengthening business activity
High-quality valuation of biomass flows (organic waste, raw material flows from agriculture, food, waste water treatment)
Transitioning from lineair economy to circular economy and a renewable energy systems, lowering CO2 emissons
The Netherlands circular in 2050 and rely on renewable energy resources
European union
Dependence of Fossil Fuels, High CO2 emissons.
Use CE prinicples to create an action plan for sustainability in 2030. Mantain Leadership on renewable energy development world wide.
residents
Awareness of the use of environmental friendly energy resources and be energy self sufficient
Generate and sell renewable energy within the community
farmers
Producing renewable energy from agricultural waste and digestion of organic waste
More control in producing bio-energy and exploiting new market opportunities
local businesses
Benefitting from the transition to renewable energy resources, but can also be pushed aside by new arising businesses
Profit from the transition to renewable energy resources to position themselves to the forefront
Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources benefits the environment
The importance of biomass for achieving climate and energy objectives and minimize the pressure of fossil fuels
agriculture
Making agriculture more efficiently and contribute to producing green energy
Provide biomass and rely on renewable energy resources
greenport
Using the CO2 produced by the biogas production for the greenhouse agriculture
A climate-neutral horticulture with reduced CO2 emissions and use of sustainable energy
fossil fuel industry
Direct competition with the production of renewable energy
Competing with biofuels industry or innovate their own industry
Transitioning to renewables boosts their business and contributes to development of technology
Full transition to producing energy and gas by full utilization of biomass resources
Processing organic food waste more circular by contributing to biomass
Exploit the food processing residues to process biomass in numerous ways
Efficiently processing waste to energy
Collect as many usable substances from waste as possible in a clean and responsible way
Schiphol
Sustainable and safe performance as one of the strategic pillars
Implementing CO2-neutral operations, sustainable growth and being waste-free by 2030
electricity companies
Transitioning from a centralized energy system to a decentralized energy system
Keeping their position of the ownership of the elelctricity infrastructure
provinces
national government
environmental institutions
bio industry
food industry
AEB
51
source: http://themasites.pbl.nl
AMA, balanced In order to organize the decision making in the process of implementing the strategy an overview of the organization strucuture is needed. There are different hierarchies that can be distinguished. Governance bodies The hierarchy of the governance bodies is regulated from the highest level, which is the European Union, to the lowest level, which are the municipalities involved in the strategy. The European Union has specific goals related with the strategy, these goals relate mainly to the fossil fuel industries, Schiphol, food industries and bio industries. The second highest body is the national government of the Netherlands. They have set certain goals and regulations, these focus mainly on the sustainability pillars. They try to deminish the emission of CO2 and transitioning to renewable energy resources. The other bodies of governance are the provinces and municipalities. The goals set by the provinces overrule the goals set by the municipality, however, the municipality is the link between the private sector parties and the governement.
from most powerfull to least powerfull. Some of these industries are conflicting, but one might have more power to pursue their objectives. For example: the fossil fuel industries have a lot of power and have direct competition from the bio industries, therefore the fossil fuel industries need to be encouraged to see and increase in value from transitioning to the bio industries. This is one of the hardest changes that needs to be made in the strategy. All the different stakeholders have different interests, power, problem perceptions and goals in relation to the strategy. The stakeholder analysis gives an approximite view on the degree of influence each stakeholder has.
Industries As shown in the previous chart, there is a difference is the power of each stakeholder. The hierarchy of the industries is built on this difference and is listed
fossil fuel industries Schiphol food industries
national government
electricity infrastructure provinces agriculture municipalities
Hierarchy of industries
Hierarchy of governance bodies
European Union
greenport AEB bio industries
residents
farmers
environmental institutions
local businesses
Private sector parties
Figure 35: Organization and hierarchy of stakeholders 52
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
53
AMA, balanced
4.3 Regional strategies
Map 13: Smart grid
54
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
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55
10
15
20 km
AMA, balanced
Local Digesters Map 16 : Local digesters to electricity
Biogas-to-electricity plant
Local digester
Electricity range
Agriculture ďŹ elds Biogas ow Map 14 : Local digesters to heat
Map 15 : Local digesters to compost and nutrients
56
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
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20 km
AMA, balanced
Wastewater treatment plants Map 19: Regional wastewater treatment plants to electricity
AEB Wastewater treatment plant
Biogas-to-electricity plant Regional output Biogas ow Sludge ow Map 17 : Regional wastewater treatment plants to compost and nutrients
Map 18 : Regional wastewater treatment plants to heat
58
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
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AMA, balanced
Bioplants Bio-plants
Biohubs
Industry input
Map 22: Regional bioprocesses to electricity
Forest input Grassland input
Biogas to electricity plant Regional output Synergies
Agriculture input Services input Biomass ow Biogas ow
Map 20 : Regional bioprocesses to compost and nutrients
Map 21: Regional bioprocesses to heat
60
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
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20 km
AMA, balanced
Biofuel refinery Biofuel refinery
Biohubs
Industry input Forest input Grassland input
Regional output Agriculture input Synergies
Services input
Biomass flow Industry Industryinput input Forest Forestinput input Grassland Grasslandinput input Agriculture Agricultureinput input Services Servicesinput input
62
Map 23: Regional biomass to biofuel
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
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15
20 km
Electricity range AMA, balanced
Regional strategy map Biofuel refinery
Biohubs Bio-plants
Industry Agriculture fields input Map 24: Regional strategy map Forest input Biogas flow
Industry input
Grassland input Regional output
Biohubs
Synergies
Biogas to Biomass electricityflow plant Regional output Synergies
Forest input Agriculture input
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
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4.4 RoadMap
How to read Example: implementation of the smart grid.
To make the development of the strategy possible and to create a synergy between the different elements, it is important to have a structured timeline containing phasing, activators, projects, interdependencies and involved stakeholders. The roadmap is a tool which shows these element, operating within a timeframe from 2018 till 2045 (and ongoing). The road map entails specific projects and actions in the order they should be executed. Most important to note is the starting phase. The strategy starts with a pilot in Almere, applied to an already existing area and an expansion area of the city. This phase is the testing phase, which has reviewing moments, where the system is being examined on the performance. Throughout the phases, the assumption is made that the technology will develop in these fields and therefore some of the technologies can be applied more efficiently.
2018
The first step in implementing the smart grid is the negotiation between the local stakeholders, private parties, municipalities, provinces and national governance to ensure all the stakeholders can benefit and gain value from the smart grid. The second step is to start the pilot areas in Almere. One of the area is retrofitted and the other is in the expansion area. The pilot will be reviewed to remove the errors out of the system and improve it where needed. After the system is optimalized in both the retrofitted and expansion area, the planning of the expansions of the system starts. At the same time storage hub activator is installed, which is combined with the waste collection point. The last step is to complete the construction of the system in the planned expansion areas of the system. Before the last system is constructed, the first system starts to operate. The operation of the system is supported by policies for the use of the system.
2020
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SMART GRID IMPLEMENTATION
2045 negotiation run pilot in Almere area review pilot construction of project in all selected areas install storage hubs (N)
waste collection points (N)
BIOMASS PROCESSES
negotiation
GOVERNANCE & POLICIES
planning expansions of selected areas
install local digesters (D) install bio-to-energy plants (C)
install biofuel-reďŹ ner
negotiation waste seperation regulations
digesters in all the wastewater treatment plants subsidize use of bio-energy and biofuel
promote urban agriculture inform users/citizens on the system
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
The phasing maps shows where the implementation of the strategy starts. The first phase is the pilot project, which starts in specific areas in Almere. Later on when the pilot has been reviewed and the planning of the expansion is completed, the second phase starts. In the second phase the strategy will expand over the whole area of Flevoland. The third and final phase expands the strategy over the whole northern periphery of the AMA.
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Map 25: Phasing of the strategy
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Figure 36: Roadmap of the implementation of the strategy 67
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5. Pilot project The project focuses on the periphery of the AMA, therefore the pilot project will be conducted in specific locations in this peripheral area. In order to identify in which specific locations in the periphery the interventions will take place, an analysis on different urban environments will be conducted. This will show where the implementation of the biomass process and the smart grid has the most potential in combination with the preconditions of transitioning to bioenergy and biogas and the smartgrid. The first location where the interventions of the strategy will be implemented are the pilot locations in the city of Almere. These areas were chosen by the limitation and opportunities related to the biomass and smart grid processes shown in the analysis section of this project. The limitation are taken into consideration and the opportunities are being exploited. The limitation are the areas which are not in the periphery, or areas which are already prosperous in contrast to the less prosperous areas in the periphery. A second limitation is the lack of space, which is the main requirement of transitioning to renewable energy resources network (Posad, Marco Broekman & ECN, 2017). Certain areas in the periphery have enough space to generate electricity, these areas are located in the periphery, where there is also agriculture. Therefore Almere is chosen to start of the pilot project phase.
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
5.1 Urban Environments
will be analysed in order to define which environments meet the requirements of making this transitions. Later on in the case study this will be explained based on the spatial implications per typology. The first distinction between urban environments is based on different typologies in the AMA. The ten different typologies distinguished in the analysis are: old city centre, pre war, post war, modern, vinex, expansion areas, landscape/agriculture, special function, industry/business parks and additional typologies. Based on these typologies a selection of spefici areas are made: 1. modern 2. vinex 3. expansion areas The decision is based on the fact that these typologies are common in the periphery of the AMA region.
The AMA entails a compact region with a large energy demand. However, the local generation of energy requires spaces. This has spatial consequences on the different environments in the region (Posad et al., 2017). According to the research on the energy transition in the AMA, conducted by posad, Marco Broekman and ECN (2017), each different environment in the AMA should contribute in their own may to the generation of energy. Although urban environments might be composed in somehow the same way, the preconditions of each environment for transitioning to bioenergy, biogas and a smart grid system could be different. Therefore different types of urban typologies
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Map 26: Spread of different typologies in the AMA source: Posad et. al. (2017)
old city centre <1800-1900 pre war 1900-1940 post war 1940-1965 modern 1965-1990 vinex 1990-2015 expansion areas 2015- ongoing landscape / agriculture special function 0
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AMA, balanced The second distinction between urban environments is based on density. The different levels of density are categorized by: old city centre, high urban, moderately urban, suburban and expansion areas. Areas with a lower density are more likely to fit the requirements of making the energy transition. However, in more dense areas there are also possibilities to make a transition, but this would acquire different implementations. The urban environments that are the most suitable for implementing the biomass processes and the smart grid are the suburban and moderately urban areas. However the high urban areas are also being explained in the next part of this chapter, because a large part of the future housing projects and densifications will end up in this type of environment. The expansion areas show the opportunities to apply the most ideal implementation of the system and
processes. The biggest expansion areas are located at the periphery of Almere. In conclusion on selecting the different typologies a few parameters are being used to indicate the flexibility of the typologies. The more flexible the typology the more likely the typology is of making the transition (Posad et. al.,2017) Density Low
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Map 27: Spread of different urban densities in the AMA source: Posad et. al. (2017)
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. The selected typologies area are the courtyard houses, which are located in the moderately urban area, the row houses, which are also located in the moderately urban area, the detached houses, which are located at the suburban area and finally the high-urban city centre.
to-energy plant is efficient. Besides the preconditions there are also several generic measures which apply to every typology. The first measure is that every house that meets the requirements of having solar panels, must have solar panels. The second measure is that urban agriculture is used wherever possible in green public spaces. The third measurement is the implementation of electrict charging points for electric cars in the neighbourhood. Furthermore there are implementations which are elements of the biomass process or the smart grid that are used specific on these typologies.
The selected locations have preconditions related to the biomass processes and the smart grid system. For example one of the preconditions is that the storage hub/waste collections point should be located near one of the main road of the neighbourhood. This precondition makes sure that the transportation of the waste from the waste collection point to the biomass-
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Figure 37: Configuration and parameters of the determined typologies
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Courtyard typology
Density Low
The courtyard typology is quite flexible to transitioning. Because of the reasonable amount of urban green, urban agriculture can be applied. The neighbourhood is located near an open area, which can facilitate a local digester. The moderately dense neighbourhood is located near a busy road, this fits the requirements of a biofuel station. The already existing supermarket can provide room for the storage hub/waste colletion point
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Figure 38: Implementation of the strategic activators in the courtyard typology 72
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
Row houses typology
Density Low
The row house typology is also located in a moderately urban environment, but is slighter more dense and has less green public space. Therefore in this typology the focus lies on the storage hub/waste collection points. These places are supposed to bring the community a collective awareness of dealing with their waste responsibly. The typology is relatively flexible to transitioning.
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Figure 39: Implementation of the strategic activators in the row house typology 73
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Detached houses
Density
The detached houses are located in the suburban area. The residents of the detached houses have a higher car dependence and therefore the most important implication is the changing points of the electric cars and the biofuel station. Another implication in this low density area is the amountStorage of hub green, which can be used as urban agriculture and can contribute to the urban green residual flow. The typology is flexible when all the private owners of the households are willing to participate
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Figure 40: Implementation of the strategic activators in the detached houses typology 74
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
High urban
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The high urban area is located in the city centre and has the highest density. Most of the measures taken in this typology are generic. Because of this high density there is not a lot of urban green. Therefore the common gardens and the rooftops will be used as urban agriculture. On most of the roofs there will be solar panels. This typology has a low flexibility, but there are still measures that can be taken.
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Figure 41: Implementation of the strategic activators in the urban high density typology 75
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5.2 Upscaling implementation
Local digester Local digester
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
We take the northern part of Almere as case study for district scale, we choose the section line in order to guarantee it cross all the neighborhood as mentioned before. We have two local digesters in this area, one is in the expansion area in the north-west corner, the other one is located in the district green buffer zone among neighborhoods in consideration of safe distance. These local digesters are the key component in this system. The material and immaterial flows include electricity, heat, compost, nutrient and biogas. We propose there are two energy districts in the northern city based on the functional influence range of local digeters. The district in the west part consists of empansion area, row house neighborhood and detached house neighborhood. The district in the east part consists of courtyard neighborhood, and high-rise house neighborhood.
n belt Local digester
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Biogas flow Figure 42: Implementation of the strategic activators in the district scale 77
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Regional biohub Local biogas to energy plant
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
For implement in Almere city scale, we choose the section line in order to guarantee it can cross all the local and regional activators as mentioned before. They are the key points in grid of city scale. Waste water treatment, regional biogas to energy plant and biohub are the three regional activators served beyond city (region scale). Regional biohub and regional biogas to energy station are located in expansion area in the north. They function together to generate electricity mainly for Flevoland through the biomass from regional agriculture. The local digesters and biogas to energy plants are only served for each district.
Electricity flow
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Biogas flow Biodiesel flow Figure 43: Implementation of the strategic activators in the city scale
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6. Reflection Current economic models based on systems of exponential growth have already been contested by a number of theorists, scientists and activists. That does not mean, however, that said models have been abolished altogether, but, rather, that their prevalence is increasingly been put under question. Within this line of thinking lies this research and design project, both in content and in form: it, essentially, proposes a structure through which we can reimagine economy in order to address the current economic development of the AMA, aligning it with a sustainable future.
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. On values and societal relevance
of the household into the equation. Since the whole system relies on the participation of households in the production, distribution and consumption of energy, their inherent particularities attain higher theoretical, conceptual, scientific and methodological value. This means, essentially, that what is important here, is, for example, the structure of the household, the different roles within the household, the household’s position within a community etc. To finish this section, it should be emphasized that this economy can be enabled to function because of its appeal. Except for the evident environmental value, the capacity of the system to function through the residents’ own decision-making and interests opens up new and vast possibilities for future development. The kind of sharing economy that is promoted via the implementation of the “smart grid” infrastructure contains in itself a different view on economic activities, currency etc. To put it simply, since waste is envisioned as the resource for this new energy system, that simply means, that individual and collective activities are, essentially, a form of currency: they can be traded and transformed, shared and accumulated. The revolutionary idea behind this project it, indeed, the fact that our activities are by themselves the precondition for further activity. To sum it up, the values that we are speaking of could be (briefly) listed as follows: 1. foster active participation within the energy system 2. stimulate awareness of the energy infrastructure 3. enhance local individual and collective behaviour 4. focus on equitable distribution of energy 5. capitalize on democratic governance processes 6. create possibilities for new economies of scale to emerge 7. shift the economic focus to real concrete individuals and groups
The proposal employs a particular merging of the notions of “top-down” and “bottom-up” strategies and policies. On the one hand, the premises lie in the empowerment of the citizen in actively participating in the energy system. On the other, a regional collective and/or administrative commitment is required in order for this to be implemented. In this sense, both sides of this spectrum function complementarily: the individual is given an elevated status pertaining to their agency within a specific system of relations and the collective is perceived as the enabling factor. In other words, therein lie notions of particular aspects of agency, democracy, governance and ethical and societal values. Democracy cannot be understood without agency. Although, in modern times, we have always associated democratic processes with the simplistic notion of representation, the rather limited nature of this narrative degrades the societal and political connotations of democracy. Rather than mere representation, this research and design project assumes full participation. And, to further distance the premises from contemporary understanding of participation only in the decision making processes, the kind of participation presupposed throughout this report is participation in the stages of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services: namely, the nature of this proposal is the reintroduction of the individual into the economic processes themselves. From a centralized system of production, distribution, provision and consumption of energy where the citizen is only conceptualized as the consumer, we are proposing a reversal of concepts where the citizen is both the producer and the consumer. This “prosumerist” approach is in line with the act of the re-seizing by the citizen of the means of productive economic activity. Consequently, the governance models are also put into the spotlight. Irrespective of whether this is something to be applauded for or not (meaning that this is not the scope of this paper), the social institutions and their role in all societal facets are universally significant. In the case of this report, said role is dual: on the one hand, it is assumed as the mediator between the interests of the public and their actual realization and, on the other, it is presupposed to function as a radical promoter of the realization of said interests. In other words, the agency that was previously outlined as the precondition of this proposal extends from the individual to the civil society’s institutions as well. Ultimately, the different actors and stakeholders need to reach a new level of cooperation. Finally, it should be noted that, while important, the aforementioned values do not appear in vacuum. There is a very specific economy at work within this research and design project that functions as the foundation of these values. The economic model proposed here is one where the actors are not only states, large corporations and a vague collective productive force, but, rather, all of the above with the very introduction
On public goods and sustainability goals Societal and ethical values cannot operate without a material medium to conduct their essence. And although in the case of this proposal the focus is on the (perceived) immaterial, it is precisely its material implications that are at stake. On the one hand, therefore, energy attains full public good status, in the sense that it becomes accessible for the general population, removing unnecessary mediators and fostering affordability and the potential for individual and collective benefits. On the other hand, the material infrastructure in itself is also a public good, in that the “smart” nature of it is precisely the element that can promote the aforementioned values and objectives.
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AMA, balanced On scientific and methodological relevance
Furthermore, in assessing the kind of public goods created and/or promoted via this research and design project, the need to answer the question of what exactly are the perceived benefits for the residents of the region arises: 1. environmentally friendly energy production, distribution and consumption 2. improvement of public health through the transition from fossil fuels and their by-products 3. possibility to elaborate on natural and artificial environments outside of the requirements and restrictions of fossil fuel energy solutions 4. underlying infrastructure with the capacity for future development and expansion 5. infrastructure that functions according to needs and interests of the citizens 6. affordable access to energy 7. future prospects for further cost reduction 8. potentials to capitalize on the new systems for individual and collective benefit 9. new economic activities 10. potential for an increase in value and obs 11. potential for new types of job opportunities 12. more balanced and equitable development through the entirety of the region 13. elevated status of unprivileged and previously neglected areas 14. enhancement of local identities, values and communities 15. emphasis on democratic governance models
The scientific promise of this research and design project lie in its hypotheses: how can the energy system stimulate economic development and how can peripheral economic development function as a driver for regional sustainable development (as well as the opposite, namely, how should the region be structured in order to not neglect or de-emphasize parts of it while elevating others). In other words, the scientific and methodological relevance of this report can be found not only in the elaboration of existing lined of thought, but, most importantly, on the combination of seemingly disparate elements. Furthermore, the deep theoretical framework poses the methodological question of merging different â&#x20AC;&#x153;bodies of knowledgeâ&#x20AC;? into one system of thought. In this case, to elaborate on the relation between the concepts of regional development, autonomous economic models, infrastructures and circular development is the issue. In that sense, we have attempted to built upon a rather untested territory of notions. We would claim that that by itself is relevant to the advancement of scientific research in that it poses the possibilities of conflation of distinct elements. However, the issue goes even further. The concrete scientific and research evidence provided throughout this research and design project, together with the literatures reviewed, highlight the need for the AMA to emphasize the development of its periphery. In order to to further go down along the road toward sustainable status, the region cannot continue operating under the assumption that overdependence on the Municipality of Amsterdam and a few others is a viable scenario for the future. As such, the new narrative outlined with this proposal reverses the actual conditions and provides a framework for discussion, further research, decision making and action.
Finally, this proposal also addresses some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promoted by UN-HABITAT. These are: 1. affordable and clean energy 2. decent work and economic growth 3. sustainable cities and communities 4. climate action 5. partnership for the goals
Figure 44: Sustainable development goals source: UN (2015) 84
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. Ultimately, the whole report is about investigating possibilities, exploring scenarios and testing hypotheses. The notion of the periphery, the new energy processes, the infrastructure through which energy and economy operate, emerge as elements that are there to elevate the existing local and regional conditions while capitalizing on their capacities. In other words, the relevance of this research and design project lies not on the quantification of the different elements and processes but, rather, on the level of synergies that are elaborated. Finally, it should be noted that we see the potential of implementing a â&#x20AC;&#x153;smartâ&#x20AC;? energy system as a catalyst in reinvigorating local identities and communities. The proposed strategy, timeframe and activators give a concrete, albeit brief direction toward approaching different landscapes, morphological typologies and identities through the lens of fostering economic prosperity. Taking AMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tremendous development and relevance, the question that rises is how to redirect material flows, how to redirect the infrastructure in order to provide equal access to economic development and, in the process of doing so, promote it as well (the social aspects of development notwithstanding). On further research This proposal poses a number of potentials for future research on its various elements. First and foremost, it should be noted that it does not elaborate on the feasibility of its proposed elements and processes. That would require more analysis and testing. While it does maintain that the economic benefits can be vast, it does not provide a full implementation account which would need to be further quantified and qualified in order for the project reach implementation status. Furthermore, while putting the emphasis on the local conditions as the element that need to be built upon for the proposed the system to operate, a more detailed exploration of the spatial implications through sociological, anthropological and cultural lenses will also be required. Finally, we should highlight the need to explore more detailed policies in the sense that, apart from the general direction proposed by this report, the actual implementation of it goes hand in hand with a wide variety of activators and throughout all scales. While this project has given the general direction, the specifics of it should be further investigated.
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6.5 Individual reflection Francisco Monsalve
However, the availability of space in the Netherlands conditions the capacity to produce enough. Renewable energies. Meaning that the proposed strategy is urgently needed in environmental terms but the current renewable energy production scenario in the country is not the best one. Which from my point of view means that the proposal is still relevant and opportune but there are synergyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outside of the region that need happen in order for the strategy to be the most effective.
The proposal made by our team has in the major part fulfill my expectations and showed me the strengths and weaknesses of this kind of approach. I think the matter is bread and the possibilities are wide. Ifeel the end the product is interesting, and I am looking forward to developing it further in order to clarify some doubts that sparked along the way. Even though in the development of this project we peruse to always have in mind how things could unfold in a real planning and implementation process, the fact that it is an academically developed proposal influences a couple of the decision making along the way. For example, the time to analyze and get to the bottom of each stakeholder´s opinion is obviously not the most convenient one, but at the end the fact that decisions needed to be taken enabled us to understand all the sides of a strategy from head to toe.
I value these kinds of findings in this type of projects because they shed light on what are the drivers that need to be addressed first if we aim to imagine a scenario like the one suggested here. Also, it evidence show broad the impact of the proposal can be. Apart from the actual proposal I find Spatial Strategies for the Global Metropolis highly relevant. Because the structure stablished along the course clarifies all the different sides of urban design at theregional level and it gives a good picture of all the components that conform it.
Our strategy proposes a new renewable energy system that seeks to improve the economic conditions in the northern periphery of the AMA. We were deeply influenced by a narrative made by Jeremy Rifkin who believes that there is a way of making our economic system more efficient and generate a better marginal cost in each step of production if we use renewable energies. Therefore, I think the strategy we tried to visualize here is effective and can do some good improvement under certain conditions. It was really interesting to find out how dependent to the energy sources we are and how much our daily activities depend on them but at the same time how little we have come to understand their dynamics. Energy seems as an abstract topic / subject, but it is actually the starting point of must processes or activities happening in cities. It seems as if we have forgotten that our cities are plugged to energy each and every day we use them.
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
Lieke Marijnissen
A precondition which we used in our strategy is the use of existing resources (e.g. organic waste) and use these recourses to create a new valuable product, that can be given back to the producer of the initial resources. Being able to close these kinds of loop made the project more tangible for me and gave me, personally, more control over the project. In general our strategy seemed to be complex and making connections between different goals of the strategy was a challenge. Starting off with an ambitious vision, gave me a hard time in the beginning of the course, mainly because strategic spatial planning was an out of the box topic for me. However I managed to keep my motivation and wanted to explore this topic.
The aim of this course was to make a regional strategy by applying circular economy principles in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA). In our project we used the circular economy more as a tool than a goal. In our project we tried to balance the prosperity in the northern periphery of the AMA. By looking at the current socio-economic trends, we identified an unbalanced economic development. In my opinion this data lies at the core of strategic spatial planning, because economy is the driver of most of the stakeholders and developments in strategic planning. The spatial development I envision is one where there is a clear change in the citizen participation in the goal of creating a more sustainable society. From the beginning on I wanted to find a way on how to raise awareness of the contribution in reaching a circular economy. By applying the smart grid in our strategy we empower the citizen to make their own decision concerning their energy use and production. An important value in this approach to spatial planning is the involvement and influence of the citizen, which I personally think should be emphasized more in strategic planning, because in my opinion the citizen is the most important stakeholder in every spatial development.
Within the group I took an observing stance in the beginning, mainly during the discussions, because I took me a while to process and grasp what we were discussing. However, I learned a lot from my group during these discussions. They made me think more critically about certain topics. Later on, when the project became more concrete, I redeemed myself and found myself having a more participating role. I was able to contribute in both the discussions and the produce of products.
The key principle we used for our strategic planning and which I think are the most important is making the objectives, which are in our case are primarily socio-economic, spatial and defined in the vision. During the process of developing the strategy, I experienced difficulties with designing a spatial strategy that can change the prosperity of a specific area (northern periphery) by applying a smart grid and bio processes. I feel like we succeeded in this challenge by continuing to search for possible solutions.
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AMA, balanced Sarantis Georgiou The key aspect, therefore, in the process undertaken by our group was to ask strategic questions regarding key tactical implementations. Not to assume that this is the only way to plan and design but, within the set context of a vibrant and largely well-functioning region, the trends we sought after addressing were “value oriented”. By starting from identifying economic regional and territorial development trends based on a set of key literature reviews and combining the actual and the factual with the imaginary, we attempted to come up with a multiscalar strategic spatial plan and actors’ involvement scenario. Undoubtedly, the results are far from final, however. Therein lies a difficulty in combining the concepts of “strategy” and “plan”. I would argue that the former has to always come first in the sense that without a vision, planning results in pure bureaucracy. However, that was the learning curve for us: depart from mere principles and envision their actualization through time, research and stakeholder involvement.
The particularities of spatial planning and design constitute an endeavour not easy to be fitted within the confines of a single academic quarter. In this case, what is highlighted is precisely this vast and rich content of ideas and practices. However, this line of thinking and acting proves to be substantially significant to the contemporary urbanist. The reasoning behind the importance of strategic spatial planning is, actually, contained in the word “strategic”. To my understanding, a strategy, apart from the obvious definition of a set of steps and/or policies toward a desired goal or outcome is, first and foremost, a vision: the essence of the project that I was a part of during this quarter attempted to envision a different future for the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. No matter how you look at it, the trend of collective imagination and implementation is one of the foundation stones of society and, thus, the need to strategically plan and design our collective territories is, in my opinion, not to be contested. However, I should note here that not all planning and design can be classified as “in the right direction”. That was a question we sought to answer while approaching this project: what would a strategic vision, plan and design mean for the inhabitant and the citizen. In that regard, and rightly so in my opinion, what we attempted to emphasize was narrative about a new lifestyle, a new way of living. It was precisely this need to include the concrete and real people in our thinking process that led us to ground our proposal to the small scale: the household, the neighbourhood, and imagine synergies between people. We were motivated, in the end, from establishing a scenario that shifts the focus of the subject matter at hand: the household is the key actor within the regionalization processes and is approached as the beginning and the end of every respective material and immaterial (eg. financial) cycles. And the spatial development we envisioned was to emphasize the balanced distribution of centres and resources.
While that has proven to be difficult, I am positive in that the idea behind our proposal was in the right direction. Since it essentially envisions active participation of the individual and a specific form of stakeholder involvement (for us economy was the key in this discussion), it, in a way at least, tries to address the aforementioned question.
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. Simin Chen Due to the uneven economic development within AMA, global resource depletion and renewable energy transition trends, we envision create a ‘smart’ biobased energy system in AMA that can give rise to prosperity to the unprivileged area in the northern periphery area to achieve a polycentric system. The values that motivate me include: the concern about uncertain future of energy consumption, giving voice to each person(especially unprivileged people), and value capture.
energy transition’ which can help them to realize the electricity they are using is a circular product from their own output. For the product manufacturer, we suggest them to label their products how the waste generated from their items has to be disposed of. In this way, the producers deal with their products once and all the waste generated from them has an indication of how it could be properly disposed of. This regulation can be applied to the whole country, and all the product manufacturers that aim to sell in the Dutch market have to follow this new regulation.
We mainly use democracy, participation, integration, and precautionary as key principles of strategic spatial planning. Because energy consumption and producing activities can be everywhere and are integrated with social activities and economic growth, the planning should be an integrity that make every element participate in. In addition, current energy depletion and local conditions(lacking space, new potentials, environmental impact…) also urge us to rethink about it carefully. The preconditions of this planning should include multidisciplinary team(urbanists, biotechnologists, sociologists, and engineers…), social awareness (biomass energy is potential), governance arrangements in place (in a different scale), transparency(the actual cost and profit)… However, there are many barriers in our project that we can foresee. Energy is not visible and the social and economic impact is hard to measure. In the Netherlands, we do not have much space for building wind turbines or solar panel. For this reason, we propose a biomass energy system that supplemented by renewable energy to implement smart infrastructure and bring prosperity.
Through this experience of Research and Studio group work with peers Sarantis, Lieke and Francisco, tutored by Dr. Diego Sepulveda Carmona, Dr. Luisa Calabrese, I really learn a lot, not only in an academic perspective but also team skill, communication skill, and ethics. In the past, I thought sharing ideas with the group is the main part of group works, however, now I realize that the way we communicate is more important than the idea itself, especially in an international group working. Because of the different discipline backgrounds(Urban planning, architecture), nationalities, personalities, sometimes it is hard for us to express individual thinking well. However, we still try the best to cooperate and negotiate but not to obey one leader or follow other’s commands. In addition, I try to find out the real reason why sometimes I strongly disagree with someone else. I will keep in mind that both agreement and disagreement are based on the understanding and respect. I will keep in mind that, never try to persuade others but understand others.
In the vertical dimension of governance, we plan to build 4 spatial scales to activate neighborhood, district, city and region step by step, in the horizontal dimension of governance, we more put effort to public sector and civil society. For social participation, it is necessary to increase social awareness by promoting our bio-process and smart grid activators from bottom to top. The strategy should be promoting neighborhood hub as the first step to encourage people to drop classified garbage by color difference, and next step is to transfer the garbage (biomass) to district digesters to produce biogas, and then, generate electricity from biogas in city scale biogas to energy plants. The electricity then goes back to the grid and used by citizens. The neighborhood hub is not only a waste point but also an electricity storage to symbolize this new model proposed with this strategy, besides, some social and economic functions should be combined, by this way, stakeholders are more motivated to participate in the planning process to see ‘visible
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7. References AEB Amsterdam. (2016). Jaarverslag 2016. Amsterdam.
Amsterdam Economic Board. (2018, April 10). Retrieved from Facts and Figures: http://data.amsterdameconomicboard.com Baran, P. (1964). On distributed communications: I. Introduction to distributed communications networks. Santa Monica, CA, USA: RAND. BĂŠlanger, P. (2012). Landscape Infrastructure: Urbanism beyond Engineering. Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Burger, M., & Meijers, E. (2011). Form Follows Function? Linking Morphological and Functional Polycentricity. Urban Studies, 1127-1149. CBS. (2017). Trends in the Netherlands. The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire: Statistics Netherlands. CBS. (2018, April 10). Economy. Retrieved from: https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/economy Circle Economy, Fabric TNO & Gemeente Amsterdam. (2016). Circular Amsterdam, A vision and action agenda for the city and
metropolitan area. Amsterdam. De Bruijn, J. (2014). Domestic waste in Amsterdam. Gemeente Amsterdam. Den Boer, M., Ma, Q., Moncrieff, N., Myserli, A., & Rolvering, G. (2017). Slime City, A bio-energy network for the AMA to foster regional
economic and social resilience. Dienst Milieu en Bouwtoezicht. (2013). Towards the Amsterdam Circular Economy. Amsterdam. ECN. (2016). The Netherlands, land of... (infographic). Economy, C. (2016). A Circual Economy in the Netherlands by 2050. The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. Eurostat . (2018, January). Renewable energy statistics. Retrieved from Eurostat Statistics Explained: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Renewable_energy_statistics Gray, A. (2017, 04 03). The best countries in Europe for using renewable energy. Retrieved from World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/04/who-s-the-best-in-europe-when-it-comes-to-renewable-energy/ Gemeente Amsterdam. (2011). Structuurvisie Amsterdam 2040, Economisch sterk en duurzaam. Amsterdam. Gemeente Amsterdam. (2015). Afvalketen in Beeld, Grondstoffen uit Amsterdam. Amsterdam. Ghisellini, P., Cialana, C., & Ulgiati, S. (2015). A review on circular economy: the expected transition to a balanced interplay of
environmental and economic systems. Cleaner Production, 1-22. Lewis, N. S., & Nocera, D. (2006). Powering the planet: Chemical Challenges in Solar Energy Utilization [Abstract]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Nationale EnergieAtlas. (n.d.). Kaarten. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from http://www.nationaleenergieatlas.nl/en/kaarten Posad, Marco Broekman & ECN. (2017). Ruimtelijke verkenning energietransitie MRA. Municipal Council of Amsterdam. (2015). Sustainable Amsterdam. Municipal Council of Amsterdam. Odum, H., & Odum, E. (2001). A Prosperous Way Down. Unviserity Press of Colorado, Boulder, Co. Odum, H., & Odum, E. (2006). The prosperous way down. Energy 31, 21-32. OpenStreetMap Nederland. (n.d.). OpenStreetMap Nederland. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://www.openstreetmap.nl/ Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving. (2014, March 3). Biomassa, wensen en grenzen. Retrieved from: http://themasites.pbl.nl/biomassa/ on March 2018 Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving. (2016). Citites in the Netherlands. The Hague: PBL Publishers. Posad. (2018, 02 21). GE_Ruimtelijke_verkenning_Energie_en_Klimaat. Retrieved from Generation . Energy: http://generation.energy/downloads/GE_Ruimtelijke_verkenning_Energie_en_Klimaat.pdf Posad; FABRICations; HNS Landschapsarchitecten;Dirk Sijmons;Studio MarcoVemeulen;NRGlab / Wageningen Universiteit;Ruimtevolk. (2018, 02 21). Generation.Energy. Retrieved from GE_Ruimtelijke_verkenning_Energie_en_Klimaat:
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. http://generation.energy/downloads/GE_Ruimtelijke_verkenning_Energie_en_Klimaat.pdf Priemus, H., & Hall, P. (2004). Multifunctional Urban Planning of Mega-City-Regions. Built Environment, Volume 30, Number 4, 338-349(12). PRO. (2016). Ruimtelijke-economische Actie-Agenda 2016-2020. Amsterdam. Provincie Noord-Holland. (2018, April 10). Kaarten Portaal. Retrieved from Interactieve kaarten: https://maps.noord-holland.nl/kaartenportaal/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=d8c0eb7751444d4b9537231615ad6a09&entry=2 Rifkin, J. (2013). The Third Industrial Revolution. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. SimoĂŤs, P. (2013). Energy from Waste - Amsterdam. AEB. UN. (2015, September 25). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from UN: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ Urhahn. (2012). Visie Noordzeekanaalgebied 2040. Van Bree, T., Chahim, M., De Groot, H., De Koning, J., Lankhuizen, M., Manshanden, W., & Stellingwerf, S. (2017). Economische Verkenning
Metropoolregio Amsterdam. Gemeente Amsterdam Economische Zaken. Visie metropolitaan landschap 2040. Strucutuurvisie Amsterdam 2040. Gemeente Amsterdam. Wu, S., Wang, C., & Leenders, D. (2017). I AMA, Inclusive Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. Delft.
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8. Appendix
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
General approach of the project FOREST RESIDUAL WASTE
AGRICULTURE RESIDUAL WASTE
COMPOST AGRICULTURE
ORGANIC WASTE
BIO GAS
BIOMASS
ENERGY & HEAT
TRANSPORT
INDUSTRY
HOUSEHOLDS
BIOFUEL
CO2
GREENHOUSES
PROCESSING OF BIOMASS
SECUNDAIRY PRODUCTS OF BIOMASS
FLOWS AND SYSTEMS TO INTERVENE USERS OF PRODUCTS OF BIOMASS
Land usse map
N
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AMA, balanced
Infographich on the energy use in the AMA and the maximum potential of energy production according to the available space in the AMA ( Energy use in AMA 3%
households services industry transport agriculture net loss
Business as usual in 2040 2%
2% 26%
26%
22%
2% 25%
23%
20%
21%
28%
WIND ENERGY
Maximum production of renewable energy in the AMA
wind turbines on water x100 = 75,5 PJ
SOLAR ENERGY
wind turbines on land x100 = 21,2 PJ
10% of agriculture land is used for solar fields = 23,7 PJ
BIOMASS
GEOTHERMAL HEAT
all the roofs have solar panels = 6,7 PJ
use geothermal heat for not directly linked demanders = 6,2 PJ
use potential areas for geothermal heat =6,4 PJ
use all the residual flows = 2,3 PJ
TOTAL MAXIMUM PRODUCTION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY = 142 PJ
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A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development.
Energy use households, typology, districts and neighbourhood (CBS,2016)
Energieverbruik particuliere woningen; woningtype, wijken en buurten, 2016
Municipalities Nederland Aalsmeer Almere Amstelveen Amsterdam Beemster Beverwijk Blaricum Bloemendaal Diemen Edam-Volendam Gooise Meren Haarlem Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude Haarlemmermeer Heemskerk Heemstede Hilversum Huizen Landsmeer Laren Lelystad Oostzaan Ouder-Amstel Purmerend Uitgeest Uithoorn Velsen Waterland Weesp Wijdemeren Wormerland Zaanstad Zandvoort Bron: CBS
Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households Total households
Subject Municipality naam Nederland Aalsmeer Almere Amstelveen Amsterdam Beemster Beverwijk Blaricum Bloemendaal Diemen Edam-Volendam GooiseMeren Haarlem HaarlemmerliedeenSpaarnwoude Haarlemmermeer Heemskerk Heemstede Hilversum Huizen Landsmeer Laren Lelystad Oostzaan Ouder-Amstel Purmerend Uitgeest Uithoorn Velsen Waterland Weesp Wijdemeren Wormerland Zaanstad Zandvoort
Codering code NL00 GM0358 GM0034 GM0362 GM0363 GM0370 GM0375 GM0376 GM0377 GM0384 GM0385 GM1942 GM0392 GM0393 GM0394 GM0396 GM0397 GM0402 GM0406 GM0415 GM0417 GM0995 GM0431 GM0437 GM0439 GM0450 GM0451 GM0453 GM0852 GM0457 GM1696 GM0880 GM0479 GM0473
Averaage natural gas consumption m3
1300 1470 460 1210 900 1670 1230 2130 2190 1020 1690 1740 1290 1530 1310 1270 1710 1490 1470 1540 2350 1100 1440 1360 380 1360 1340 1330 1590 1200 1740 1410 1270 1390 average 1408
Flow chart energy in the Netherlands
95
Average electricity consumption kWh
2910 3330 3180 2890 2210 3190 2720 3900 3610 3070 3450 3150 2510 3360 3210 2810 3070 2780 3040 3300 3790 3070 3180 3090 2990 3020 3000 2750 3110 2730 3360 2990 2700 2830 average 3068
District heating % .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5,5 58,1 6,7 10,1
8,7 7,4
15,5
70,3
6,2
AMA, balanced Flow chart energy in the Netherlands (2)
Flow chart household waste in the AMA HOUSEHOLD WASTE input
collection
processor
RESIDUAL WASTE
output
Reparco
BIOGAS GREEN ENERGY
UNDERGROUND CONTAINERS orgaworld
BIOMASS
PAPER
BOTTOM ASH
50,76 kg/y/inh
van Gansewinkel
GLASS
AEB
ABOVE GROUND CONTAINERS
ELECTRICITY
22,17 kg/y/inh
HEAT
PLASTICS
4,24 kg/y/inh
MALTHA
MINI CONTAINERS
TEXTILE
4,46 kg/y/inh
SITA
COMPOST
MATERIAL RE-USE/RECYCLE
CHEMOCAR PRODUCT RE-USE/RECYCLE
SMALL CHEMICAL
0,3 kg/y/inh
sympany
BIODEGRADABLE
72,9 kg/y/inh
BULKY WASTE
72,46 kg/y/inh
BRING IT TO A WASTEPOINT recycle store
LEAVE IT AT THE ROAD
ASW
GARDEN 18,31 kg/y/inh
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NEW OWNER
A renewable energy network as a driver for a sustainable peripheral development. New bio system
Local identities of the AMA
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April 2018