Witteveen+Bos wins framework agreement for Energy Transition consultancy services in The Hague
In the summer of 2021, Witteveen+Bos was awarded Lot 1 of the framework agreement for Energy Transition consultancy services for the municipality of The Hague. Witteveen+Bos will assist The Hague in giving concrete form to its energy transition brief by providing technical research and advice on sustainable heat sources. It will also carry out studies on the technical and financial feasibility of a sustainable heat supply for various districts in the city. The aim is to make the city more sustainable and future-proof. ‘We are proud that our bid received the highest rating from the municipality of The Hague,’ says Michel Berghuis, head of the W+B office in The Hague.
Through its Energy Transition programme, which includes this framework agreement, the municipality of The Hague aspires to become a climate-neutral city. This ambition is not without its challenges; demand for energy must be reduced throughout the city, for example by insulating buildings, persuading people to use energy more sparingly and using energy sources and systems more efficiently.
Like the rest of the Netherlands, The Hague also needs to move away from using natural gas for heating homes and other buildings as well as for cooking. In the coming years, the municipality of The Hague will mainly focus on the following energy sources: electricity, geothermal energy, aqua-thermal energy, UTES systems and waste heat. To deliver energy from renewable sources to the entire city, large-scale network construction and reinforcement of the electricity grid will be required.
When transitioning to an alternative heat source, preparing homes for the transition is a key part of the process. This means weighing up the best alternative heat supply and assessing the technical and financial feasibility. Through this framework agreement, Witteveen+Bos will support The Hague's Energy Transition programme team in taking concrete steps at district and neighbourhood level to save energy and achieve a sustainable heat supply.
As part of the invitation to tender, The Hague challenged Witteveen+Bos to submit an action plan in which we focused on securing knowledge and further developing innovation within our consultancy services. Thanks to this action plan and a team of consultants with extensive knowledge of the energy transition, Witteveen-Bos emerged as the winner.