New energy policy of the Frisian water authority

Case
Energy transition

New energy policy for water board in 2030

Wetterskip Fryslân

Wetterskip Fryslân is one of the 22 regional water boards in the Netherlands. Wetterskip Fryslân strives for 40% renewable energy production and 8% more energy efficiency in 2020. It also strives to be climate-neutral in 2030 by having zero greenhouse gas emission. It is making the first steps towards this by investing in biogas production and solar energy. Both in the short and long term, more needs to be done to achieve its energy and climate goals. Wetterskip Fryslân asked Twynstra for assistance with creating a proposal for the council for new energy policy.

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Our vision

There is no single solution for achieving the energy and climate objectives of Wetterskip Fryslân. Choices have to be made from a variety of measures, each with its own price tag, effectiveness and spatial impact. Political debate is required to make decisions about the proper energy projects and the conditions under which the council is prepared to provide funding. As such, we designed a process for finding supported principles for energy projects, both in the short term (2020) and long term (2030). Based on these principles, we wrote a proposal for energy policy that would help the project managers of Wetterskip Fryslân to makes decisions on energy measures.

Our approach

We started by interviewing employees and members of the management board in order to uncover which expectations and ambitions we should address in the process of drafting a proposal for new energy policies. The next step was to investigate – together with specialists of Wetterskip Fryslân – the variety of options for achieving 40% renewable energy and 8% more energy efficiency. After several sessions with specialists, governors and the council, we decided on the supported principles and a supported framework for choosing energy measures.

The result

A proposal for the council for new energy policies. The proposal incorporates the principles and framework for energy projects and makes clear how the investigated energy measures fit the principles and framework. The proposal shows the costs and benefits (in terms of contribution to energy and climate goals) of energy measures and contains an action plan towards 2020.

Twynstra’s added value

Our consultants have the skills and experience to show viable routes in the energy transition, as well as to design processes for finding supported strategies, policies, projects and investments. We help our clients to remain focused on the objectives and connect with important stakeholders to achieve those objectives. Our experience with different energy projects across the Netherlands proves helpful for creating new perspectives and approaches.