Rijkswaterstaat, the province of North Holland, the 12 neighboring municipalities (Alkmaar, Heiloo, Castricum, Uitgeest, Heemskerk, Beverwijk, Velsen, Haarlemmermeer, Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Ouder-Amstel, Diemen), and Liander will examine the potential for sustainable energy generation along North Holland highways in the coming year.
This applies to the northern portions of the A1 and A2 as well as the A9, A5, and A22 highways. A declaration of intent has been signed for this by the public parties.
Noord-Holland has taken a step toward helping to achieve the goals for the climate by signing the declaration of intent. By 2030, renewable energy sources like wind and solar energy must provide 70% of the world’s electricity.
In North Holland, like in the rest of the Netherlands, finding the area needed for this is a significant difficulty. The Regional Energy Strategy in North Holland is a result of the collaboration between municipal and regional parties. This explains the process and locations where solar and wind energy can be used to produce sustainable electricity. One aspect of this is to make space accessible beside roadways.
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Preliminary analysis of the viability of the site alongside motorways in North Holland has been done since the spring of 2022. This demonstrates that around 694 hectares, or an area the size of over 1000 football fields, are potentially available for the production of electricity. This applies to nearby open expanses of land, noise barriers, including side verges and connections.
The next step is improved investigation of promising areas, with good interaction and collaboration with locals playing a big role. The parties anticipate that the inquiry will span a full calendar year and be finished by the end of 2023.
OER Initiative
The study is conducted within the framework of the OER Program(external link) (Energy Generation on Central Government Real Estate). The government makes its real estate available for the production of renewable energy through this scheme that spans the entire government. When provinces and municipalities ask for this, it happens.
In the Netherlands, several pilot projects are already in progress. In North Holland, a test initiative had already been launched at the Wognum, Abbekerk, Medemblik, and Middenmeer interchanges along the A7 freeway. The expenses of generating energy, integration into the environment, and road safety were among the topics this experiment studied.
Source: Rijkswaterstaat
