Energy Justice in Holendrecht

Abstract

As part of the Dutch energy transition the municipality of Amsterdam has drafted their Transition Vision Heat, indicating which sustainable heating sources can be used in Amsterdam as an alternative for natural gas. One of the alternative heating sources identified is residual data center heat. With the project ‘Digital heat in the MRA’ the municipality aims to create a showcase project to stimulate the large-scale use of this type of heating source. Recognizing that there is a strong social aspect to the transition the municipality of Amsterdam aims to facilitate a fair and equitable transition. An important element of this recognition is the understanding that without community support, projects can run into delays or even lawsuits. Therefore, municipalities are now looking into co-creation as a way to include stakeholders in the transition.

However, how to facilitate a fair and equitable co-creation process for the heating transition is still under debate and differs per project. Within the project ‘Digital heat in the MRA’ there is a focus on the role visuals could play to support the process of co-creation. To see if the conditions for a fair and equitable co-creation process are present in connecting two building blocks in Holendrecht this research draws on the insights from energy justice. Furthermore, as it is the organized stakeholders that shape the initial co-creation sessions, it is crucial to investigate if they identify issues with energy justice. In this way injustices can be identified from the start and be alleviated as much as possible to make sure the sessions are set up in an energy just manner. Therefore, the following research question has been formulated for this thesis: What energy injustices are identified by organized stakeholders in the transition towards sustainable heating in Holendrecht and how are visuals used to communicate about energy injustices?

By means of a review of energy justice literature a set of indicators has been synthesized to form the basis of the participatory observations and interviews conducted for this study and formed the springboard for the thematic analysis. In total 13 participatory observations and 5 interviews have been conducted. This led to the identification of 10 energy injustices and the visuals used to communicate about those injustices. These have been subdivided between the three tenets of energy justice namely distributional justice, recognition justice and procedural justice.

With regards to distributional injustice, net congestion, limited space in the subsurface, perceived availability of supply, financial differences between tenants and homeowners, and overlooking long-term impacts are identified as injustices impacting the fair and equitable transition. Regarding recognition justice, labeling tenants to only care about money and disturbance, and not including residents in the surrounding apartment blocks are identified as injustices. Lastly, the limited involvement of those directly affected, limited share of information and an imbalance in power are identified as injustices related to procedural injustice. Furthermore, it is found that visual communication regarding the injustices was mostly related to the physical infrastructure by means of maps and photographs.

By identifying these injustices, a first step is made towards creating the conditions for a fair and equitable co-creation process into connecting the two building blocks in Holendrecht to a district heating grid. Furthermore, the visuals identified are able to serve as tools to communicate about the energy justice surrounding the physical infrastructure. With this, insights are given into the challenge to create a fair and equitable transition from natural gas heating towards sustainable heating within the metropolitan context of Amsterdam.