Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
The main focus: technical and social innovation of the construction column. "The challenges related to making real estate more sustainable are still the same," says chairman Leen van Dijke. "Reducing heat demand is paramount, a district-wide approach and stimulating bottom-up initiatives have high priority."
Stroomversnelling aims for an industry-wide approach to the NOM principle, as an innovative non-profit organization in the practice of energy transition of homes and neighborhoods. Van Dijke: "We do that with members throughout the chain, from municipalities, housing corporations and builders to suppliers. In addition, with a strong lobby we ensure the right preconditions in legislation and regulations." Among other things, this recently led to the development of the Neighborhood Compass, a digital instrument in which variables can be entered in order to adequately get to work making neighborhoods CO2-free.
The instrument is supported by the Ministry of the Interior. "In addition, we sit at the Implementation Table of the Climate Agreement and are part of the Heat Coalition." The latter has fundamental criticism of the Warmtewet, Van Dijke said. "The Warmtewet is too traditionally framed and builds too emphatically on the existing supply. The Heat Coalition advocates encouraging new developments, such as an emphatic role for public grid operators and private initiative from the bottom up. Understandably, from their business model, large energy providers are not keen on the reduction of energy demand as advocated by Stroomversnelling, but if we want to achieve the climate goals there is no other option."
Stroomversnelling is a learning organization. "Thus, the initiators of NOM projects have seen that it is sometimes understandable for all sorts of reasons that NOM is achieved in steps - i.e., not all at once. Thereby, it is of great importance that a step is 'regret-free', and if all steps are taken the intended NOM goal is guaranteed to be achieved. This is why we have developed the NOM Keur in steps. Much has been achieved in the past year, including the presentation of the first NOM Keur in steps to VolkerWessels." Van Dijke is positive about the required market developments and technical innovation strides. "You see that the renovation flow is delayed due to corona, but new construction is running like a train. We also see all kinds of concrete initiatives in the market for the establishment of factories for housing production, such as from Plegt-Vos."
Hopeful is that more and more long-term thinking is taking place. "We in the Netherlands have pushed the bill forward too much in the past, think of the nitrogen and asbestos problems. Later you will be presented with that bill twice over. Those who invest in sustainability now have the opportunity to do so step-by-step, regret-free or otherwise. For housing corporations, a phased approach is often not the most obvious thing to do, for example with a view to gaining residents' support, but anyone who invests in sustainability now - starting with reducing heating demand - will not regret it. In politics, interests must be weighed up, but existing interests should never determine the route to the final goal. Look at the goals of the Climate Agreement, we say at the Implementation Table: you must not haggle with goals, otherwise you frustrate everyone who is sincerely working to achieve them."
