Action network 15% GasTerug launches moves to save energy

The reason for these initiatives is the desire to reduce dependence on Russian gas as much as possible and help reduce the high energy costs of these organisations.

Each of these initiatives focuses on providing organisations with insight about their energy consumption and tools to optimise their energy management. The initiatives are intended to complement the ongoing commitment from the province of North Holland to the Energy Savings Agreement, for example, and are designed to maximise their alignment with it.

Optimising climate control systems

The first initiative focuses on supporting organisations in reducing their energy consumption by better setting up their climate control systems, such as through the use of an energy management system. Through this initiative, about forty companies (and possibly healthcare facilities) in our region are being targeted by Spectral to help them do this with insights into energy data (step 1). Based on previous experience, it is known that after interfacing with the building management system (step 2) and then the deployment of dynamic control (step 3) savings from 10 to 25 percent in energy consumption can be realised.

Saving with refrigeration and freezing

The second initiative focuses on organisations that use a lot of energy for refrigeration and freezing (such as companies at the Food Center Amsterdam, Greenport Aalsmeer and Schiphol Airport, as well as butcher shops and restaurants). Even for these organisations, much can be gained by closely monitoring energy consumption for this purpose and better regulating installations, for example by using the Freezer.data module, developed by the company IJskoud. Some 40 companies (and possibly healthcare facilities too) will be supported through this initiative to (substantially) reduce their energy consumption in the short term.

Insight into energy consumption at healthcare facilities

The third initiative focuses on energy conservation at healthcare facilities, another sector where rising energy costs are having a huge impact. Through this initiative, Sigra, the alliance of organisations in care and welfare in North Holland, will be able to more systematically roll out activities that have recently taken off, especially in large institutions. These include encouraging healthcare facilities to prepare energy savings reports, working on financing scenarios and deploying innovative techniques.

Savings initiatives well-received

“These conservation initiatives are a great addition to the ongoing commitment to energy conservation from the province, the MRA and the environmental services,” said Deputy Stigter. “For too long we have accepted poor compliance with legislation that has been in place since 1993, requiring companies to increase their energy efficiency. Now more than ever there is an urgency to change that with the carrot, but also with the stick where necessary. These initiatives can help in this regard and are relevant not only from a sustainability perspective. For example, smarter freezing and cooling can also help to reduce congestion on the electricity grid, making more electricity available to make businesses more sustainable.’

At the meeting, others also appeared enthusiastic about the pilots. This was true, for example, for the programme manager of Greenport Aalsmeer, Ronald van den Breevaart, who emphasised the potential of the initiative around smarter freezing and cooling and mentioned that enough heat is discharged in the Netherlands annually to provide heat for millions of homes. That potential was endorsed by Coen van de Sande, director of the NVKL (Dutch Association for Enterprises in the Field of Refrigeration and Air Treatment). Van den Breevaart and Van de Sande said they would be happy to work with the 15% GasTerug action network, formulating a proposition for the government around this challenge for a more structural approach.

How to proceed?

Concrete agreements have already been made with some companies to participate in the initiatives. In the coming weeks, the same will be done with other businesses and healthcare facilities. Businesses interested in participating should email Bauke de Heer(bauke@synnovem.nl), healthcare institutions should contact Johanna Lagarde(johannalagarde@gmail.com).

Within a few months, the results of these initiatives will become visible and will be used to encourage other companies and healthcare facilities to take similar steps. This not only contributes to the ambitions of the 15% GasTerug action network, but also to the future-proofing of their own organisation.

More information

Learn more about the 15% GasTerug action network on the Dutch website Ik zet ook de knop om.
Any questions about this network? Send an email to info@actienetwerkgasterug.nl.