Amsterdam Southeast test location for smart local electricity grid

Alderman Marieke van Doorninck (Sustainability): “In the coming years, electricity will become more and more important for us all, for example, because electric cars are becoming more popular and because fewer homes are using natural gas. If electricity grids are to deal with these new developments, it is important for us to experiment with new ways of energy generation and consumption, and the inter-exchange of generated electricity. We are now doing this together with the residents of Venserpolder: from the very outset, we have involved two home-owners associations and allowed them to actively share their ideas so they can later benefit from the results of this experiment.”

Part of the Southeast region of Amsterdam will be used to develop an initial simulation for the neighbourhood energy platform. This will be done to simulate all energy flows, relevant buildings and energy infrastructure. Thereafter, things like charging terminals, solar panels, new-builds, existing buildings and heat pumps in the platform will be inter-connected within the simulation, in order to research how energy can be distributed and exchanged in an intelligent manner. If the study demonstrates the effectiveness of the platform, it can be implemented in Southeast as well as other urban areas. Energy that is generated in Zuidoost but is not used immediately can, for example, be stored locally using the battery at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. In collaboration with the Municipality of Rotterdam, the neighbourhood energy platform is also being tested in the city’s Schiebroek region (low rise).

The LIFE-City platform
The LIFE-City platform (which stands for Local Inclusive Future Energy - City platform) is a collaboration between the Municipality of Amsterdam, the Johan Cruijff ArenA, TU Delft, Alliander, EnerTrans, Spectral, Hedgehog Applications, Utrecht University, Co-Force, Amsterdam Energy ArenA, AMS Institute and the Municipality of Rotterdam. A subsidy was awarded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, and co-financing was provided by the Municipality of Amsterdam and other parties, so the neighbourhood energy platform could be developed.