Energy

Grid generation of electricity and heat accounts for around thirty per cent of Dutch energy output as well as CO2 emissions. The figures are similar for Europe as a whole. Despite all the measures taken to date, though, power consumption is still on the rise and with it CO2 emissions. In our work under the headings Heat and Power generation and Energy Efficiency we support market players in their efforts to turn the tide.

Our main focus on the production side is the potential of Bio-electricity & Heat , clean fossil and nuclear and, as a matter of course, all the other renewables too. We introduce our clients to new energy concepts, ranging from novel (combinations of) technologies to more efficient or cost-effective options through appropriate use of incentives. We research the technical, economic and social feasibility of such concepts, identifying their strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats they imply. Above all, we seek to ensure that all this is properly factored into the market price of end products.

Given declining stocks, growing foreign dependence and the familiar range of environmental impacts, we must make wise use of the energy available to us. With our Built Environment projects we work to ensure that consumers and other local players like municipalities, banks, housing cooperatives and community groups are in a position to choose wisely, particularly on issues relating to the urban and home environment and greenhouse horticulture. To that end we research policy tools that can increase transparency such as energy labelling, power product disclosure and the Energy Performance Index for new housing developments, EPL, while also assessing the wider environmental burden associated with specific appliances and equipment.

Our principal expertise under these four headings is in the following areas:

Evidently, all this is closely intertwined with wider issues of energy and climate policy, in the Netherlands as well as internationally. This wider context we address under the heading Climate Policy. CE Delft’s engagement with energy and climate policy issues goes back over 25 years and we are acting secretariat for the Dutch Energy Policy Platform.