Practical experience in the Netherlands Since energy transition is an important topic and will remain so for the coming years, the NCEA will address this issue prominently in its advisory reports. One of our recent examples is the advice on the SEA for the environmental strategy of Hillegom municipality. The Hillegom case: Assessing energy neutrality in an SEA for municipal planning The municipality of Hillegom, which has a population of 20,000 and lies in the flower bulb farming area in the west of the Netherlands, is developing an environmental strategy called “Heerlijk Hillegom” (Glorious Hillegom). It contains aspirations for 2030 and a vision on the direction of developments within the municipal area, for instance: • sustainable flower bulb farming, by scaling up and using innovative technologies • • • and • realising new attractive residential areas by relocating industrial/business areas stimulating recreational services and activities improving public health and environmental quality (including nature conservation) ensuring that Hillegom is 100% “energy neutral” in 2030 100% Energy neutral in 2030 The Paris climate agreement has stimulated increasing numbers of municipalities in the Netherlands to aspire to become “energy neutral”, that is, to achieve equilibrium between their energy consumption and energy production. The consequences of Hillegom’s ambition to achieve this were analysed as part of a regional study commissioned by a consortium of 14 municipalities. For this purpose, the entire energy demand for the region was estimated, and the opportunities for saving energy and for sustainable energy production were reviewed. Demand for energy in Hillegom largely depends on the built environment and industry. The study estimated that an overall energy saving of 30% relative to energy use in 2014 should be possible by 2050, because any further sustainable energy production within Hillegom proved to be limited by a range of conditions. Geothermal energy and energy from biomass are virtually impossible with27
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