Our collaboration with TenneT has been organised into two framework agreements. One concerns technical services and engagement and stakeholder management by E-MERGE, the partnership between Witteveen+Bos, Antea Group and Bilfinger Tebodin. The other involves line calculations and was concluded directly with us.

As a grid operator, TenneT is involved in both sides of green electricity’s supply and demand in the roll-out of the energy transition. The current grid’s supply will be expanded to include green electricity obtained from solar panels in residential areas, wind farms both on- and offshore, and other renewable power sources.

Demand for green electricity comes from various sources, including charging stations and poles, large data centres, new residential areas, and industry, many of which are moving away from fossil fuel-based energy. To facilitate the network expansion this increased supply and demand requires, TenneT is improving the quality and capacity of its grid. They are doing this by expanding high-voltage substations, creating new connections, and replacing old infrastructure.

To accelerate these processes of expansion and modernisation, TenneT is increasingly opting for large-scale projects on which the grid is worked on at several locations simultaneously. On these projects, E-MERGE is a permanent design partner.

The E-MERGE consortium has developed an approach in which the complexity of combining technology, data and people is effectively managed, enabling us to deliver customised solutions. This approach includes the use of multidisciplinary teams, with specific expertise being added per project or task. Thanks to our broad knowledge network, we can quickly and easily call on experts in fields including ecology, soil and noise.

Project teams also always include one or more engagement and stakeholder managers. This ensures the participation obligation under the Environment and Planning Act is consistently met. It also means we are explicitly investing in communicating with the often numerous and varied stakeholders. Permit specialists are also included in our multidisciplinary teams to ensure process flow is monitored.

Collaboration days, on which colleagues from Antea Group, Bilfinger Tebodin, Witteveen+Bos and TenneT come together physically at a given location, strengthen collaboration bonds. They also ensure that achieving better solutions faster is coupled with increased work enjoyment.