Sustainable Utrecht office gains priority grid link amid congestion
A sustainable office building is securing a priority connection to the overcrowded Dutch electricity grid by installing gas generators that help ease congestion, NOS reports. The project is the renovation of a long-vacant Rabobank office in Hoog Catharijne near Utrecht Central Station.
The building stood empty for more than 10 years. Construction crews are now transforming it into a modern, energy-efficient office known as De Nieuwe Tuin that uses almost no natural gas. Two gas generators will be installed in the lower levels. On days of high electricity demand, the generators will supply extra power to the grid, ensuring enough electricity reaches all users and preventing outages nearby. Grid operator Stedin connected the renovated office only because of these generators.
“This building had been out of use for so long that it no longer had a proper electricity connection,” Eppo Danser, commercial director of Schroders Capital Real Estate, told NOS. The grid grew overcrowded in the meantime. Without the arrangement, De Nieuwe Tuin would have waited years for a connection.
Working with Stedin, the owner found a solution that lets the project relieve pressure on the scarce grid capacity. Distribution rules allow operators to prioritize projects that act as congestion relievers.
“I have never experienced such a complicated puzzle before,” Danser said.
The generators are expected to run only a few days a year. On those days the otherwise green building will use natural gas. “We also looked at all other options, such as batteries,” Danser said, “but this was really the only solution to give the building a proper power connection.”
Stedin installs its own gas generators elsewhere to handle peak winter electricity demand and keep the grid reliable. The company will control both its generators and those at De Nieuwe Tuin.
De Nieuwe Tuin is the first project to gain a grid connection through gas generators. Stedin is negotiating with other companies. “At the moment you can count them on one hand,” said Warmold ten Zijthoff, regional director for Utrecht at Stedin. He expects the approach to expand. “I expect that many more customers will start thinking this way to still get access to the electricity grid.”
The arrangement is currently practical mainly for large projects and companies. Smaller businesses also face growing problems from the overcrowded grid and may seek similar priority routes.
Danser said he is grateful to Stedin. Without the solution, construction would have been delayed for years.
To fit the generators, the developer bought extra space and installed the equipment. “That is a technical tour de force,” Danser said. “A lot is needed to realize this, aside from buying the generators themselves.”
Companies decide whether to become congestion relievers. They receive compensation when their generators are used but are unlikely to recover costs. The usual alternatives remain years of waiting or abandoning projects.
Stedin wants to connect more businesses, said operational director Aline Arends. “But in many other cases it simply is no longer possible. The grid is unfortunately very full, and that is also why we are working hard to expand it.” Flexibility from companies that ease congestion helps maximize use of the existing network.
In real estate, an electricity connection was once a formality that received little attention during planning, Danser said. “Now the first thing we look at is what power connection does a building have?” Grid congestion has become part of the profession. De Nieuwe Tuin remains an outlier. “I have never experienced such a complicated puzzle before.”
