INTERVIEW Green light for WarmtelinQ heat transport pipeline
On 8 November 2021, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and Gasunie gave the green light for the construction of WarmtelinQ, a pipeline to transport residual heat from the Port of Rotterdam to the city of The Hague. Community Engagement & Permits Manager Liesbeth Siesling and Floor Hooijman from Business Development at New Energy reflect on the importance of this project for the heat transition. Liesbeth: ‘WarmtelinQ can act as a catalyst for the emergence of new, local initiatives.’
Catalyst for the heat transition
‘We can heat an equivalent of 120,000 homes with the residual heat from companies in the port area,’ says Floor. ‘That is a major step in the energy transition, but also a breakthrough in bringing supply and demand together. You can’t invest in resources if you don’t have customers, and vice versa. WarmtelinQ can resolve this chicken-and-egg problem.’ Liesbeth: ‘It is a very important pipeline for the province of Zuid-Holland, offering as it does municipalities an alternative to natural gas.’
Getting customers and local communities on board
Floor: ‘We have worked hard to bring this about. Before the decision to proceed could be made, there had to be a sufficient number of binding contracts with parties that would use WarmtelinQ. Right now I have a broad role, like working with the finance department to determine the impact of our agreements with stakeholders on costs and tariffs.’ Liesbeth: ‘I was involved with WarmtelinQ early on, when it was still called Leiding door het Midden [Pipeline through the Centre] and was still owned by Eneco. When Gasunie took over the project in 2019, I moved with it. My team manages community engagement and arranges getting the permits. Given that the pipeline runs through six municipalities, you have to deal with a lot of parties.’
Proponents and opponents
‘I was very concerned about politics, especially in The Hague,’ Liesbeth continues. ‘In some places people are concerned that WarmtelinQ will crowd out local initiatives, that we will price them out of the market.’ Floor: ‘The playing field is also quite complicated, but the demand for heat is enormous. To fully meet this demand, you really need more than WarmtelinQ alone. There is room for other, local sources and grants are also available for this. It would be nice if more attention would be paid to the interplay between the various sources. Fortunately, the majority of the parties are really very positive, like those in greenhouse agriculture, for example.’
Role of heat grids
Liesbeth agrees: ‘The province and the region really want this pipeline and are very happy that it is going ahead. Various studies have shown that the demand for heat in the Netherlands can be met in part through heat grids. But not every region in the Netherlands is suitable for this. This location is unique thanks to its many sources of heat and the densely populated area nearby.’ Floor: ‘There is certainly still plenty of room for more heat grids, both in the province of Zuid-Holland and in the rest of the Netherlands. And for other sources, like geothermal energy, too.’
First non-gas pipeline
Floor: ‘Matching supply to demand is an enormous challenge in almost all heat grids. The fact that this is now possible is a great success when it comes to the energy transition.’ Liesbeth: ‘With this, for the first time Gasunie is laying a different type of pipeline than a gas pipeline. And it is different for the technical staff too, given the important role played by the local communities. Where our gas pipelines are usually not located in urban areas, our heat transport pipelines are. We are really right at people’s doorsteps.’
Extending the route
Liesbeth: ‘We are now investigating whether it would be possible to lay a branch of the route from Rijswijk to Leiden. We will face the same challenges here as well. That said, the heating transition is becoming an increasingly clear task for municipalities as time progresses. Municipalities have already had to give this matter considerable thought and have made plans. That can help in gaining support.’ Floor, continuing on this point: ‘The ball is now rolling. The more parties that join in, the more affordable it ultimately becomes for the end user. And the greater the contribution it will make to society. More and more pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.’
Interfaces everywhere
Floor: ‘What I like is that this is a project that actually matters: it really does affect a significant number of households. And everything interfaces with everything else: technology, finance, stakeholders...it is inspiring to work on all of this with a team of great people.’ Liesbeth: ‘There is interaction between all the disciplines and people feel involved in each other’s discipline. We are really doing this together. It is also great that Gasunie understands how important community engagement is for this project, that I have the time, money and people for my team to meet the challenges relating to the local communities. In my view, Gasunie is handling this very well.’