Grid congestion threatens to grow into a structural construction crisis in the Netherlands. Whereas for years the sector was mainly held back by nitrogen, permit procedures and personnel shortages, the overcrowded electricity grid is now at least as big a blockade.
According to Puck Sanders, sustainability advocate at Bouwend Nederland, the problem now affects the entire breadth of the construction sector: from housing construction to sustainability and from healthcare facilities to business parks.
"Grid congestion is now one of the biggest and most acute brakes on construction production," Sanders said. He says what makes the problem extra complex is its unpredictability. "A project can be all planned, financing arranged, the contractor is ready, and then still not go ahead because there is no connection capacity."
That is precisely what distinguishes grid congestion from other construction obstacles and makes it a many-headed monster. "With nitrogen or permits, developers often know where they stand early in the process. With a congested power grid, the blockage may not become apparent until the final stage. That causes investor reluctance and makes construction projects riskier."
Virtually the whole of the Netherlands is jammed
The problem has long since ceased to be limited to a few regions. Especially economic growth areas such as Flevoland, Utrecht, Noord-Brabant and parts of Gelderland are struggling with heavy pressure on the grid. But queues for new connections are increasingly forming in other provinces as well. Anyone who picks up the national capacity map of Netbeheer Nederland can immediately see what Sanders is talking about: almost all of our country is colored deep red, which means that everywhere there is currently a queue for connection to the grid.
Until now, large companies have mainly been affected. A waiting list of about 15,000 companies has existed for years for large consumer connections. What is new is that housing projects will soon also be directly affected by queues. New rules from the ACM mean that from July 1, small consumer connections will also be on waiting lists.
That means the consequences are becoming increasingly visible to residents. It's not just new construction houses that are delayed; schools, hospitals, business parks and sustainability projects can also get stuck. Sanders therefore emphatically calls it "a major social problem."
Smarter use of the existing grid
According to Sanders, the structural solution obviously lies in expanding and strengthening the power grid. "But that takes years and requires billions in investment. That is why other solutions must also be deployed more quickly: solutions that are still underutilized, but can have a rapid effect."
Measures that currently receive little attention in the debate could make quite a difference, according to Sanders. One important one is smarter use of the existing grid. "The solution lies not only below ground in thicker cables, but also above ground in smart installations and more flexible use of energy," he says.
"Concrete examples are flex contracts, demand management and so-called grid-aware design," he continued. "This involves designing homes and buildings to reduce peak consumption. Temporary batteries near residential areas or generators running on green gas can also provide relief."
Another opportunity, according to Bouwend Nederland, lies in better regional cooperation. "In many regions there are now so-called direction tables and/or Energy Boards, where municipalities, provinces, grid operators and market participants coordinate plans early on. That prevents delays and speeds up projects."
Costs rise further
There is an added complication: smart and grid-conscious construction makes projects more expensive. According to Sanders, the additional costs can range from 5,000 to 15,000 euros per home. "This is currently being further mapped out. The fact is that grid-conscious building still leads to higher costs that do not always fit into the business case.while at the same time politicians are committed to affordable housing construction."
According to him, government and network operators will therefore also have to make agreements with property developers and construction companies about who will bear the additional costs. If that does not happen, affordability will once again become a brake on housing construction.
Government lacks decisive power
Although, according to Sanders, the urgency is now widely felt, central control is still lacking. Especially regional differences in procedures and decision-making are causing delays. "For example, there are plenty of examples of grid expansion projects that are delayed by months or even years because municipalities and provinces spend unnecessary time discussing spatial procedures." According to Sanders, the national government must therefore steer much more emphatically. "Grid congestion should really become a top priority for housing and the economy."
The message to The Hague is therefore clear: accelerate network expansion, organize flexibility with clear rules and take centralized decisions more quickly. Only then can we prevent the current problems from developing into a long-term construction crisis.
Cooperation as key
One thing is now certain: grid congestion will not disappear of its own accord and requires a different way of cooperation between government, grid operators and the construction industry. This not only involves expanding the power grid more quickly, but also smarter design, better planning and earlier coordination.
He believes the first examples of this are already visible in various regions, where municipalities, network operators and construction parties are working more closely together and projects are being designed more network-consciously. It is precisely this combination of technical innovation and managerial decisiveness that must ensure that housing construction and sustainability can continue in the coming years.
"The sense of urgency is getting better and better," Sanders says. "Now it is especially important that we make choices faster. Because without faster choices and clear direction, implementation will lag behind."
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