Ameland wants to become more sustainable quickly, but together with the islanders. Luc van Tiggelen from the municipality of Ameland explains how he sees this.
In a study by Tilburg University at the end of 2019, Ameland emerged as the most sustainable municipality in Friesland and the sixth sustainable municipality in the Netherlands. Luc van Tiggelen, sustainable development policy officer at the municipality, understands where that image comes from. “We had the largest solar park in the Netherlands here on the island for a while, we are currently working on a second solar park with a battery and I think we are the first municipality in the Netherlands where thermal scans have been made of all permanently inhabited homes. So yes, we do have ambitions when it comes to making our energy supply more sustainable.”
Joint involvement
“I think it helps that we are an island anyway. Islanders are independent, prefer to keep their own pants on and have little regard for non-natural boundaries. This helps with sustainability, because in many cases it also leads to more self-sufficiency. And what also helps: as a municipality, we work a lot with others in the field of sustainable energy. From the beginning, as a municipality we have worked intensively with the islanders, with local entrepreneurs and with like-minded companies in and outside the energy sector. We also work closely with the Amelander Energy Cooperative AEC. Collaboration always follows lines of personal contact, joint involvement and shared ambition.”
On Ameland we learned that you really have to start with the user
Residents as experts
“In my opinion, the most important feature of the Ameland energy transition is the contribution of the Amelanders themselves. On Ameland we learned that you really have to start with the user. Even if you think you have good ideas. The residents, homeowners and entrepreneurs are always our starting point. So if we have to create a heating strategy for The Hague, we start again with the residents, with their homes, their business premises, their energy use, their insulation measures, their wishes and future plans. And then we discuss what options there are to save costs and make things more sustainable and what the pros and cons of all those options are. Residents are experts of their own situation. We want to hear from those experts first. We try to make plans with the people, not for them.”
