Last December, the kickoff of IEDEM took place. During this meeting, Connectr, Common Affairs, Citymaker, and Duurzaam Energie Perspectief (DEP) came together to launch a joint initiative aimed at accelerating housing construction at a time of increasing grid congestion. The initiative is co-funded by the Province of Gelderland.

Housing construction under pressure due to grid congestion

The Netherlands faces a major challenge: realizing new, sustainable housing while the electricity grid in many places is reaching its limits. Plans are being delayed due to a lack of available grid capacity. Grid reinforcement is one possible solution that grid operators are working hard on, but it takes time—time that is scarce, as the housing shortage is severe. Alternative concepts are needed to develop smart local energy systems. Various pilot projects have already demonstrated that much is possible.

Municipalities and developers are often dependent on grid-reinforcement projects, which take a long time and are difficult to integrate into the dynamics of area development. At the same time, alternative solutions exist, such as decentralized energy systems that can create local capacity. However, these solutions require a different approach to design and decision-making, in which energy and spatial planning are inseparably linked.

IEDEM: restoring control to the design process

The next step is to capture this knowledge and these insights in a tool that makes it possible to create energy scenarios based on user-defined parameters. These scenarios show what is feasible in terms of energy. However, the choice of energy system also affects physical space requirements. Therefore, the tool also incorporates the necessary physical space into its models in order to arrive at suitable and workable solutions.

IEDEM focuses on developing a digital tool that enables municipalities and developers to create their own scenarios for decentralized energy systems. It will also provide immediate insight into the spatial impact within a given area. In this way, energy will no longer be an afterthought but an integral part of spatial design.

The aim is to give stakeholders greater control by providing a tool that supplies the necessary knowledge and models. This will help accelerate the process surrounding housing projects, even when grid reinforcement is still a long way off. The Province of Gelderland supports this initiative to contribute to future-proof area development and to speed up the housing construction challenge in the region.

Starting point of a joint trajectory

The kickoff marks the beginning of this process. In the coming period, the partners will take the first steps toward an initial version of the tool. Demand for such a tool is high, and many municipalities and area developers are therefore participating in its development. Together, they are working iteratively toward a tool that is practical to use and capable of making a real impact on the housing construction challenge.