Flagship valley
Alkmaar: a bit of history
Alkmaar’s Renewable Valley is an innovative initiative started in the Netherlands, designated to become Europe’s first Renewable Energy Valley. This medium-sized area hosts over 300 business facilities and 3000 households, all connected to a shared energy grid. It serves as a part of the EU-funded REFORMERS project, aimed at creating regional ecosystems, focusing on renewable energy and local energy production and consumption.
This valley is unique for its comprehensive diversification and integration of various renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and bio-energy plants. It’s a Flagship for future energy valleys in Europe, focusing on locally produced and consumed energy. The initiative also involves the requalification of existing infrastructure for renewable energy distribution and storage.
Alkmaar’s Renewable Valley is at the forefront of green energy production, housing facilities like the Energy Innovation Park Alkmaar, for testing new technologies in renewable energy generation, storage, and distribution. It’s a model for energy resilience and sustainable development, bridging traditional energy sectors with innovative systems.
Innovation testbed in Boekelermeer
The FV Alkmaar ‘southrand’ is a 4km² area including housing, industrial, commercial, and agricultural activities. It is centred around the Boekelermeer business and agricultural area 1, close to the Overdie’s dense residential zone 2, Heiloo’s residential and Business Areas 3 in he north.
The key features of the Valley include accessible and expanding renewable energy sources (wind, solar, bio-energy), the Energy Innovation Park Alkmaar (EIPA), and InVesta for advancing biomethane and hydrogen production. Additionally, existing gas infrastructures are being re-designed to increase green energy distribution and storage.
| Target | 2023 – initial status | 2028 – medium term target | Variation in % | Variation in direct Co2 equivalent emission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual solar capacity | 13 GWh | between 26 – 43 GWh | +100% – +230% | N/A |
| Wind production capacity | 23 GWh | between 23 – 47 GWh | +0% – +100% | N/A |
| Bio-energy and bio-methane from local bio-waste | 293 GWh | 293 GWh | +0% | N/A |
| Clean hydrogen production | 0 GWh | between 9 – 109 GWh | NA | N/A |
| Natural gas consumption | 84 GWh | 0 Gwh | -100% | – 15 kTon |
| Annual CO2-eq emissions | 20 kton | min – 2,5 kTon max – 5 | -75% – 87.5% | – 5 kTon |
Transitioning households in Heiloo
Next to the transformation of the energy system on Boekelermeer business park, REFORMERS also includes other end-consumers such as households at Heiloo and Overdie.
Heiloo is an adjacent village to the city of Alkmaar. The municipality is home to 24,000 residents on 19 square kilometres. As part of REFORMERS, the neighbourhoods will be equipped with additional solar panels on rooftops, 10 individual and 1 collective battery units, and 5 individual small heat storage units for the residents and businesses. Also, WiththeGrid will install a “Teleport home innovation” to allow the optimization of electricity flows.
Heat grid upgrade in Overdie
Overdie is a neighbourhood in Alkmaar where approximately 4,000 residents are situated. Many of the residents in the neighbourhood are living in social housing being provided by housing corporations. Whereas these houses are currently connected to the natural gas grid, the aim of REFORMERS is to extent the existing regional heat grid to the neighbourhood and thereby replacing natural gas usage. At least one high-rise building, owned by Woonwaard, will be connected to this extended heat grid.
Storage batteries in Plan Oost
Plan Oost focuses on implementing home batteries, a core component of the REFORMERS project. Stakeholder engagement activities are dedicated to generating practical experience with residential battery systems and increasing knowledge and awareness within the broader community throughout the project’s lifecycle. Periodical meetings and user interviews are organized every year for experience exchange and refinement of the solutions. The initial focus is system control and optimisation. Representatives from the system supplier, the installer, and data experts from Withthegrid will be invited onsite to provide essential guidance on optimal configuration settings and the underlying rationale for these approaches.
Replication valleys
There are 6 Replication Valleys participating in the project. Replication valleys will test tools allowing a tangible assessment and benchmarking of suggested solutions, technologies and innovation and help identify suitable business models.
