A kingdom for power!
‘'A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!' That is what the famous English writer Shakespeare had a king proclaim on the battlefield in one of his plays. In Den Helder, you could turn it into 'Power, power, a kingdom for more power!' That is how dire the situation has become. The clogging of the electricity grid, officially called grid congestion, is a huge problem for the ambitious new construction and renovation plans in the city.
Starting with the renovation of the former V&D on Beatrixstraat into Het Warenhuys. This will house 36 homes and five shops. The renovation begins in February, even though it is currently uncertain whether the building will receive electricity on time. What is the situation? Five questions for Ton op 't Ende, Real Estate Manager at client Woningstichting/Helder Vastgoed BV.
Is the power grid really completely full?
,"Not for a large part of the day. The problem is the peak load. If households and businesses all request power at the same time, for example in the morning, the grid cannot handle it. Then the power goes out in parts of the city. That can cause serious damage. So even though there is sufficient capacity for the rest of the day, grid operator Liander does not want to allow any more power consumers to prevent that overload at peak times."’
How is it possible that there is no electricity available for Het Warenhuys now? The old V&D had electricity, didn't it?
,"When we bought the old V&D in 2018, no one had heard of grid congestion yet. Nor three years ago, when we had the building disconnected from the electricity grid. We did that partly for cost reasons. Maintaining the connection cost us a six-figure sum annually. Back then, everyone thought: we’ll get the power back later. No one knew that you have now simply lost that capacity."’
Is there a big difference compared to the old situation? Back then, wasn't V&D also a store with apartments?
,"That is correct, but both the shop and the homes were heated by gas. The national government wants us to become more sustainable, so everything has to run on electricity now. Much more electricity will be demanded soon. Furthermore: back then there were 22 homes and one shop; soon there will be 36 homes and five shops. And all those separate shops need their own three-phase power."’
Are there no alternatives, such as solar panels, generators, or batteries?
,"Generators cause noise and pollution. You don't want that in the city center. Batteries are unaffordable for such a large building. And solar panels do not generate enough power. Not to mention the question of whether you are even allowed to connect them to the power grid. Because that, too, is becoming increasingly problematic due to grid congestion. We are already running into this during the sustainability upgrades of our rental homes."’
Why does Helder Vastgoed want to start with Het Warenhuys in February, even though it is currently uncertain whether there will be electricity?
,"We have spent quite a long time on demolition work and asbestos removal in the building. We do not want to leave the shell standing like this any longer. Therefore, we are starting with the construction in any case, so that the appearance of Beatrixstraat is further improved. We hope that in the meantime, in consultation with Liander, a solution to the power problem will be found, so that after completion, there will be a beautiful building standing there, complete with residents and shops."’
