Sustainable Transportcorridor Betuwe (2012)

Sustainable Transportcorridor Betuwe (2013)

The Province of Gelderland has initiated the Sustainble Transportcorridor Betuwe project (in Dutch DTB) to investigate the potentials for energy savings and renewable energy provision (1st and 2nd step Trias Energetica) in the Betuwe region. See also previous post on the DTB project.

The DTB project addresses a unique challenge by combining energy transition and sustainable transport. Many stakeholders in the area are looking for solutions to save energy and generate renewable energy. The dense infrastructure in the region, transected by several highways, train lines, rivers and canals, offers particular chances. DTB aims for an encompassing strategy supported by local stakeholders, supporting their sustainable ambitions. In this regard a selection of economic, environmental and spatial consequences of renewable energy are represented in infographics (e.g. figure below).

A smart spatial organization can reduce transportation and thus result in energy savings. Combining this with a mix of renewable energies can be an impetus for the region to develop into a sustainable energy landscape. Short and long term robust measures are needed, to deal with critical uncertainties. Therefore, an advanced version of the so-called five-step approach is applied in the study. Due to the spatial extent and complexity, the emphasis in DTB lies on the identification of key energy landscape typologies and subsequent development of robust transition measures.

The DTB project is connected to the BSc thesis of several students from the Landscape Architecture program at Wageningen University. The BETUWE+ students are challenged to develop visions for a sustainable energy landscape in Overbetuwe, an ambitious municipality that lies in the heart of the DTB region. Whereas each student has to address a fair share of the current energy demand in his/her work, they are free to focus on either energy savings or renewable provision. With a population density of 400 inhabitants per square kilometer and quite extensive infrastructural networks, Overbetuwe can serve as a sample for most areas of the Netherlands.

DTB aims to be an exemplary project with regard to sustainable transport and renewable energy at the regional scale, supporting stakeholders in their ambition while maintaining and improving the existing spatial characteristics of the Betuwe. In the project, the NRGlab is collaborating with the province of Gelderland, DLG in Arnhem and WING in Wageningen.

Figure: Analysis of the energy consumption for road transport and mobility in the Betuwe region