Zaanstad
Zaanstad has some 190.000 inhabitants. The municipality consists of a conglomerate of formerly independent smaller towns that altogether cover an area of some 85 km2.
The actual policy in the field of Energy is mainly formulated in the so called Zaanse Energie Agenda – ZEA (Agenda on Energy) for the 2014 – 2018 period.
The main measures proposed in the ZEA are:
- saving energy through insulating houses built before 1990;
- stimulate private companies to invest in sustainable measures and energy saving;
- produce more sustainable energy (esp. heat networks, solar power);
- finding innovative ways to finance investments in sustainable solutions;
- continue building smart grids to balance demand and supply;
- make energy an integral part of policies in many domains, not just in the field of environment.
See Zaanstad's approaches towards integrative energy planning at one glance.