The ‘Slim met Gas’ (Smarter Ways with Gas) foundation
On 31 January the 1st national micro-CHP congress was held in Apeldoorn (see the description of the HRe boiler), at which the Gas Transition Agreement was signed by GasTerra, ENECO Energie, Essent and Nuon. The ‘Smarter Ways with Gas’ foundation was established shortly thereafter to implement the activities contained in the agreement. The partnership is influenced by the Dutch government’s ambition to convert current energy supplies to sustainable forms of energy management. Natural gas is playing an important part during the changeover period (‘energy transition’).
The foundation has set itself the objective of giving a vigorous boost to the introduction of new, energy-saving technologies and/or gas applications by means of demonstration projects. The foundation targets, in particular, fitters, policy makers, project developers, the housebuilding sector and producers. The HRe boiler currently represents the most important point of interest. The concrete objective is project coordination, installing and providing support for around 10,000 HRe boilers over the next few years. These activities included presenting an HRe boiler in April 2007 to the Prime Minister Mr Balkenende, who, for his part, gave the appliance to a relief centre in The Hague.
Besides the introduction of the HRe boiler, the participating parties will also address themselves energetically to the introduction of other energy-saving gas appliances, such as gas-driven heat pumps and gas tumble dryers.
