Hart van Holland is a region composed of ten neighboring municipalities willing to work collectively on a shared agenda for the Omgevingvisie 2040 (Environmental Vision). This agenda includes classic urban topics but is enriched by the spatial implications deriving from sustainability goals and target regarding energy, mobility, waste and urbanism. The first layer that Hart van Holland decided to explore is energy as the region has explicitly stated its ambition to become energy-neutral by 2050. This means that in the region the energy used will be equal to the energy produced.
Location: Leiden, Netherlands
Program: Regional Assessment and Energy Transition
Year: 2015
Commissioner: Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu, Gemeente Leiden
Partners: Posad, Evolv, Buck Consultants International
Design Managers: Eric Frijters, Olv Klijn
Project Manager: Bas Driessen
Team: Duong Bui, Goda Galdikaite, Lloyd Martin
This research reveals the seven steps to overcome the challenges related to the transition to a sustainable, renewable energy.
The first four steps consist in investigating the amount of energy currently available in the region and what is the potential for the future. The last three steps suggest a link between strategies at a regional level and spatial projects at the street level. This study shows that the region can be 100% neutral and that energy transition is also a spatial matter.