post

A Compromise for Nuclear Energy in the Netherlands

March 2022 – A new public debate on the role of nuclear energy in the Netherlands is coming up now that that the new Dutch government has announced to investigate options for two new nuclear power plants in the Netherlands. The war in the Ukraine contributes to the urgency of that debate. Therefore, SPA Sustainability proposes a compromise for nuclear energy in the Netherlands.

Clingendael Spectator (2018) Recycling the Dutch nuclear energy debate

ViWTa (2008) – Zoeken, vinden en winnen. Een analyse van de drijvende krachten achter de beschikbaarheid van energiedragers olie, gas, kolen en uranium. Download the report here.

Clingendael International Energy Programme (2006) – Uraniumwinning: voorzieningszekerheid, milieu- en gezondheidseffecten en relevantie voor Nederland

Rathenau Instituut (2004) – Het nucleaire landschap. Een verkenning van feiten en meningen over kernenergie

‘People like me’ in air pollution

May 2021 – As one of the outcomes of the ‘ClairCity’ project, SPA Sustainability contributed to a scientific article of the University of West England (UWE). The article discussed how you can visualise the impacts of everyday behaviours on air pollution in cities. Have a look at the full abstract in ResearchGate here.

post

Book launch and symposium ‘A Circular Society in 2050’

January 2021 – On 8 January 2021, the Dutch political party ‘GroenLinks’ successfully launched the publication ‘A Circular Society in 2050’ (‘Circulair samenleven in 2050’) with an online symposium visited by some 80 participants. The book, edited by SPA Sustainability, links for the first time the concepts of circular economy and a broad welfare by asking the question ‘what is required for living happily and comfortably together in a society that is circular in the Netherlands, Europe and globally?’. Ordering the book and more information about the symposium are available here.

post

Citizen Communities and Demand-Side Management in Europe

December 2020 – In recent years, citizen energy communities that jointly produce renewable energy and sell it to the grid are starting to become integrated into the electricity grids in many EU countries. Cooperating as a community on joint energy saving is an even more recent development. In the European Horizon2020 project LIGHTNESS, five pilots on joint energy saving through an advanced network interface are tested in practice. The cases involve Zero Energy Houses in the Netherlands, social housing in Poland, a city as independent energy cooperative in Spain, a housing block in Italy and a business park in France. For Duneworks B.V., SPA Sustainability coordinates the work programme on citizen engagement.

post

New Strategic Cooperation with Duneworks

November 2020 – As of November 1st, 2020, SPA Sustainability has started a new strategic cooperation with the Eindhoven-based consultancy Duneworks. The goals of DuneWorks fit very well with those of SPA Sustainability, as the company is specialised in the societal aspects of the transition towards an inclusive and sustainable climate. The cooperation will entail European as well as Dutch national and local projects. See for more information the website of Duneworks here.

post

Scenarios for a Circular Netherlands in 2050

September 2020 – For the scientific council of the Dutch political party GroenLinks (WBGL), SPA Sustainability started editing a book with scenarios and articles giving an impression of how a circular society in 2050 could look like. The book discusses not only possible technological innovations upto 2050, but also the social innovations that would have to with them. Risks and benefits of the transition towards a circular society are discussed.

Final ClairCity Reports now Available

September 2020 – The final reports of the ClairCity project are now available. The reports outline the innovative ClairCity method to design and implement together with citizens ambitious air quality and carbon policies in cities. The method offers a unique combination of modelling, citizen engagement and policy co-creation that was successfully tested in six European cities and regions.

post

Successful Edition of Summer Course Energy Transition 2020

August 2020 – The VU-IVM Summer Course ‘Global Energy Transition in a Fossil World’ was held from 6 to 17 July 2020. 25 students from all over the world discussed with a variety of speakers from Dutch government, NGOs, academia and business to learn about social, political, economic and technological aspects of the global energy transition. A new edition will follow in July 2021.