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 processes 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 institutions to business parks.
"Grid congestion is now one of the biggest and most acute brakes on construction production," Sanders says. 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."
Almost all 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, North Brabant and parts of Gelderland are experiencing 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, mainly large companies have been affected. A waiting list of about 15,000 companies has existed for years for wholesale connections. What is new is that residential construction projects will soon also face direct queues. New rules from the ACM mean that from July 1, small-user connections will also end up on waiting lists.
That means the consequences are becoming increasingly visible to residents. It's not just new construction homes that are being delayed; schools, hospitals, business parks and sustainability projects could also be stalled. 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 of investments. Therefore, other solutions must also be deployed more quickly: solutions that are still underutilized, but can have a quick 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 include 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 players coordinate plans early on. This 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 grid operators will therefore also have to make agreements with project developers and construction companies about who will bear these additional costs. If this 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 really needs to become a top priority for housing and the economy."
The message towards The Hague is therefore clear: speed up grid expansion, organize flexibility with clear rules and take central decisions faster. Only then can the current problems be prevented from growing into a long-term construction crisis.
Cooperation as key
One thing is now certain: grid congestion will not go away by itself and requires a different way of cooperation between government, grid operators and the construction industry. This is not just about expanding the grid faster, but also about smarter design, better planning and earlier coordination.
He says the first examples of this are already visible in several regions, where municipalities, grid operators and construction parties are working more closely together and projects are being designed more grid-consciously. It is precisely this combination of technical innovation and managerial decisiveness that should ensure that housing construction and sustainability can continue in the coming years.
"The urgency is being felt more and more," 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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