Dutch Smart Thermal Grid

More than half of the energy demand in the Netherlands consists of the heat demand of homes, businesses, greenhouse horticulture and industry. This heat is currently produced almost entirely by the burning of natural gas in factories, power stations, homes, offices and greenhouses. There are important disadvantages to burning natural gas. The Netherlands is becoming increasingly dependent on natural gas imports. With the current rate at which we extract natural gas in Groningen, the Netherlands will run out of natural supplies within a few decades. In addition, emissions from combustion gases contribute to climate change. The substantial reduction in the use of natural gas is therefore an urgent part of the route to the policy objective of a sustainable energy supply. But how?

While the heat requirement is enormous, in certain regions such as South Holland there is also a large amount of heat left over from the petrochemical industry, power plants and waste processing plants.

Part of it is currently being used with the help of urban heat networks. However, there is discussion about the sustainable nature of this "coal heat" and future availability is also uncertain.

Should we therefore refrain from installing heat networks? On the contrary. This is because there is a different and much more sustainable and cost-efficient heat source that can use the same infrastructure, namely geothermal heat. Hot water from a depth of 2 to 4 kilometers is pumped up.

Based on current knowledge of the subsurface and the bores, it seems that geothermal energy can meet the heat demand of a large part of the Netherlands! In addition, compared to smaller-scale facilities such as solar boilers and heat pumps, it is by far the most cost-effective form of heat generation (euros/ PJ). Geothermal energy has another important advantage: the visible spatial impact is minimal. This means that (in contrast to, for example, wind energy) little social resistance is likely to be expected on this aspect, which makes large-scale implementation possible.

In the coming years, "regional smart thermal grids" will arise in regions where the supply and demand for residual heat and geothermal energy are close together. Secondly, heat networks will also be installed in regions where well-insulated pipelines can supply residual heat and geothermal heat over a greater distance. Slowly but surely, a nationwide, robust heat network will emerge where a wide variety of parties can offer and purchase heat: the "Dutch Smart Thermal Grid".