On the east and south sides of the Noorder IJ-plas, the Municipal Executive of Amsterdam proposes to grant three locations to Amsterdam Wind for the construction of wind turbines.
It involves three wind turbines with a 200-meter maximum tip height as well as related infrastructure. The property where the wind farms will be built belongs to Amsterdam. The municipality is required to give various parties an opportunity to use the land in the majority of projects. However, no other parties are involved because only one qualified applicant has submitted an application for the development of wind turbines at the Noorder IJ-plas.
Superficies
Amsterdam Wind seeks permission from the municipality to temporarily utilize the essential land (until December 31, 2053) in order to construct the wind farm. The actual property is still Amsterdam’s. The right of superficies is what it is known as. By means of a notification, Amsterdam declares its intention to grant Amsterdam Wind this right of superficies.
Cooperation
Those who disagree may file a summary lawsuit before the court until May 31, 2023 (20 days following the notification). A start will be made on drafting a collaboration agreement between the Municipality of Amsterdam and Amsterdam Wind if no other serious candidates step forward or if summary proceedings reveal that there are no other serious candidates. This will control the environment for future construction and development.
Background
A first proposal for the study and development of wind turbines to help achieve the goal of lowering CO2 emissions was made in 2007 under the name Citizens’ Initiative Wind Energy for North. Since 2012, the local (further) development of wind energy has been a focus for the cooperatives Amsterdam Noord Energie Coöperatie (WOAN/Amsterdam Wind) and NDSM Energie, which have already signed two letters of intent with the municipality for this aim. For a variety of reasons, they haven’t yet resulted in further deployment.
No other contender has stepped forward at this time. With the collaborating cooperatives in WOAN that wish to develop the wind turbines at their own cost and risk, the municipality signed a new statement of intent in 2020. With the aforementioned cooperatives as well as three additional civil energy cooperatives, this agreement has been reached.
By 2030, Amsterdam hopes to have installed at least 127 megawatts of wind power. This goal still needs about 17 brand-new, 3 megawatt wind turbines. In 2020, there will be dedicated search areas in Amsterdam. For the Regional Energy Strategy North Holland South 1.0 (RES 1.0), the search areas have been condensed and prioritized into preferred areas, reserve areas, and extra reserve areas.
Amsterdam Wind Vision
The proposed location has been identified in the RES 1.0 as a desirable area and as a search area for the development of wind energy in the Amsterdam Wind Vision. According to the Amsterdam 2050 Environmental Vision, the municipality will work with those that start wind projects in the desired locations if certain requirements are met. The coalition agreement and RES 1.0 both discuss local ownership. To ensure that residents of Amsterdam also profit, the municipality supports local ownership. The township prefers cooperative energy generation models with at least 50% local ownership. The municipality also thinks it’s preferable for the area closest to the wind turbines to receive the majority of the benefits from the functioning of the wind turbines.
The municipality views WOAN as the only serious candidate because the initiative has been the only one for years, the energy cooperatives involved are serious candidates, WOAN is a partnership between several (local) cooperatives, the initiative is fully in line with the municipal Wind Vision with regard to the promotion of wind energy and local ownership, and part of the earnings benefit the immediate environment.
Source: Amsterdam Municipality
