Until recently Jeroen was Chief Information Officer (CIO) at ENOWA in Saudi Arabia. During his time there, he set up the sustainable energy and water company’s entire Digital, Data & Cyber value chain. Before that (2011-2020) he worked for Dutch energy company Essent as Head of IT/Programme Manager, where he oversaw multiple digital & data transformations. His career began as IT Manager (later Senior IT Manager) at pharmaceutical company AMGEN (2001-2011).

Jeroen Schellekens has a Bachelor’s degree in Business IT & Management and a post-Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Avans University of Applied Sciences in Breda.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are values that are embedded in Eneco’s corporate strategy. The company actively works on safety and inclusion in the workplace, to create an environment where everyone feels heard and appreciated and is comfortable being themselves. In late-2024 Eneco joined the Workplace Pride Benchmark, an international evidence-based standard for measuring LGBTIQ+ inclusion in the business sector.

Eneco has made this progress thanks to a series of LGBTIQ+ inclusion initiatives during the past year, such as by improving its policies, employment benefits and communications and working on greater awareness. The improvements will continue this year with the introduction of inclusive parental leave and preparations for transgender leave.

Eneco values diversity, equity and inclusion not only for its own people, but also for its customers and in the company’s role in society. Based on its mission of Everyone’s sustainable energy, Eneco believes that it is important to share different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences if the energy transition is to succeed.

Reaching first power is a significant milestone for Ecowende and for the Dutch energy transition. Once fully commissioned, the wind park will generate 3.3 TWh of renewable electricity per year; enough to meet approximately 3% of the Netherlands’ total electricity demand.

The Ecowende wind farm is connected to the Dutch onshore grid via TenneT’s offshore high-voltage infrastructure. TenneT serves as the developer of the ‘offshore power socket’ and power grid that brings Ecowende’soutput ashore, working in close coordination with Ecowende and the relevant ministries and coastal authorities. 

Building in harmony with nature 
 

What sets the Ecowende wind farm apart is not only its scale but its pioneering approach to ecological integration. At Ecowende's initiative, Vestas is fitting seven turbines with a single, red-painted blade to test whether the colour contrast reduces bird collision risk during rotation. Other above-water measures include a dedicated bird corridor, wider turbine spacing, elevated nacelles, adaptive curtailment and AI-assisted radar monitoring for birds and bats. 

Below the waterline, specially designed scour protection creates rock crevices and bays that shelter fish and other marine species, while fish holes in the monopile foundations are being trialled as additional fish habitat. These are just a few of the ecological innovations, as part of Ecowende's ambition to set a new standard for offshore wind in harmony with nature. 

Reshaping European power markets 

The day-to-day operations and maintenance of the wind farm will be carried out by Eneco Wind Offshore Operations. Electricity trading is handled by Next Kraftwerke, together with SEEL and EET. Next Kraftwerke began marketing Ecowende’s electricity on 4 July 2026 and also acts as Balancing Service Provider (BSP) and Congestion Service Provider for the wind farm, managing system integration and congestion across day-ahead, intraday and balancing energy markets on behalf of Ecowende. 

Balancing energy for a stable and reliable energy system 
 

The wind farm actively supports grid stability by providing balancing energy, particularly automatic negative frequency reserve (aFRR). This balancing energy product compensates for frequency fluctuations in the power grid by flexibly adjusting the power fed into the grid and balancing out excess electricity. In this way, the Ecowende wind farm makes an important contribution to a stable and reliable energy system. 

In recent years, Eneco has invested in 225 MW of its own batteries in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The company also participates in battery parks of other investors by assuming control of the batteries. So far, these partnerships represent nearly 1 GW of electricity. Some of those battery parks are under development, and will become operational within the next year and a half. Together, these 15 major battery projects mean that Eneco will control a total of more than 1.2 GW of battery capacity.

Partnership with developer Storm
The 1 GW milestone has now been passed with a contract with Storm, a Belgian company that develops sustainable energy projects. Storm is currently constructing a 200 MW battery park in Ruien, and a 100 MW park in Langerlo. The batteries have storage capacities of 800 MWh and 400 MWh, respectively, and will be a major addition to Belgium’s available large-scale battery capacity.

Both projects use Lithium ion batteries supplied and installed by Tesla. Once the parks are completed, which is scheduled for 2027, Eneco will assume control of the batteries for a 10-year duration.

Further growth in dispatchable battery capacity
Eneco is working to create greater flexibility in the electrical grid by deploying large batteries. This will make it easier to utilise the sustainable energy that is available from wind and solar in response to fluctuating demand from the market. The main focus for Eneco’s further expansion of its dispatchable battery capacity portfolio is on Belgium and Germany, where ‘standalone’ battery parks are currently not charged for costs of transmission.

Developing and contracting battery parks poses greater challenges in the Netherlands, where transmission fees apply. As a result, Dutch battery parks are generally developed at co-locations. Although this means lower transmission costs, unfortunately it also puts constraints on how much battery capacity can be developed compared with how much storage capacity the electricity market needs.

• EBIT was €383 million (2024: €341 million), EBITDA was €791 million (2024: €724 million), with a profit after income tax of €271 million (2024: €245 million).

• Capital expenditure remained stable at €468 million (2024: €447 million). 

   

Strategy: areas of key progress

• Pleasing performances under the One Planet Plan: CO₂ emissions down to 9.4 Mton (2024: 9.7 Mton).
• Customer satisfaction up to 86.2% (2024: 85.5%), thanks in part to further improvements to customer service by telephone and over digital channels.

• Introduction of Eneco in Huis, entry onto the Polish market, and total battery capacity up to 1.2 Gigawatt.

   

 Strategy: the challenges

• The conflict in the Middle East caused volatility and uncertainty on the energy markets during the final months of the financial year.

• The energy transition is losing steam, and we will update our One Planet Plan to reflect this. 

   

Eneco had a good year, with satisfying financial results and good progress on carrying out our strategy, including the One Planet Plan.

Last week, Eneco announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Hekla Energy, a rapidly growing Polish trading company, giving us a foothold on the Polish energy markets. The agreement offers a platform to further expand our operations in one of Europe’s largest and fastest growing electricity markets.

Coming so late in the financial year, the crisis caused by the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Straight of Hormuz had little direct impact on the annual results. Eneco acted swiftly by adapting its procurements, and fixed contracts remained available for customers. Although prices have not increased much so far, this could change if the situation continues until the winter. With this in mind, we will continue our efforts to keep energy affordable and to make arrangements with the Dutch government and the sector about launching the public emergency fund as soon as possible to reduce energy poverty.

Operating results

Eneco wants to maximise the service and convenience it provides to customers. To make sustainable energy solutions as simple as possible, we brought all our installation, service and maintenance activities together in Eneco in Huis.

We made ongoing efforts and investments to provide customers with the best possible service across all channels, including the app, the website and telephone. This led to a higher customer satisfaction: 86.2% (2024: 85.5%).

Our consumer customers can use our Voordeelmomenten product to take advantage of moments when electricity is cheaper. We also offer HappyPower, which provides loyal customers with free electricity at a time of the day of their choosing.

With our partner Rabobank we launched Groengebouw, a proposition for the business market that offers a one-stop-shop for sustainability improvements to commercial premises. After acquiring Gulf Gas and Power, Eneco will also help some 30,000 customers in the SME sector with their sustainability improvements.

We made good progress on the markets for flex services as well. Besides continuing work on our Virtual Power Plant Myriad, earlier this month Eneco signed a contract with Belgian company Storm, which develops sustainable energy assets, to manage a total of 300 megawatts of batteries. This brings Eneco’s total flexible BESS (battery energy storage systems) capacity in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany to 1.2 GW. Eneco will control the batteries in response to market forecasts and developments.  

Onshore wind did not develop as hoped. However, the acquisition of Prowind offers prospects for further growth. The Dutch government, in part at Eneco’s urging, has made constructive improvements to incentivise the roll-out of offshore wind. Work is proceeding according to schedule on Ecowende, Eneco’s newest offshore wind farm that we are developing in partnership with Shell and Chubu. Shortly after the books were closed for the financial year, the foundations were completed and the first turbines were installed.

The heat market was turbulent, under pressure from developments relating to the new Dutch Heating Act. This legislation, which Parliament passed after years of intense debate and which is expected to come into full effect in 2027, includes a rule that heating grids must be majority publicly owned by the end of a transitional period. Eneco has started studying what the options are for the future of its heat business, including public-private partnerships.

In the meantime work continued on various heat projects. For example, 1300 homes are now connected to the new heating grid for Schiedam’s Groenoord district, and 1000 homes are connected in Bospolder-Tussendijken in Rotterdam.

One Planet Plan

We succeeded in further reducing our CO₂ emissions to 9.4 Mton (2024: 9.7 Mton), which is more than 43% less than for the base year of 2019. In addition, we have identified four projects to make a net positive biodiversity contribution.

The energy transition faces considerable challenges: besides sustainability, affordability and security of supply have also become more important. This calls for change, and we will update our One Planet Plan accordingly. Now more than ever it is vital for the public sector, the business sector and societal organisations to come together and accelerate this phase of the energy transition:

• incentivising and so increasing the demand for sustainable energy

• designing policies for easier investment in sustainable production and flexibility

• adding flexible capacity (including batteries) to reduce grid congestion

• encouraging households and industry to transition from gas to electricity

Eneco remains as committed as ever to leading the energy transition, and we expect to present the initial outline of the updates by the autumn of 2026.

Solid financial results

Despite these market conditions, our financial results were solid:                     

Revenues from energy and energy-related products and/or services were €6.6 billion, down €0.8 billion from the previous financial year. This drop was caused primarily by lower electricity prices across all our markets.

Profitability improved, driven chiefly by the strong contribution from the trading activities, favourable terms for procuring energy and an unremitting focus on cost control and operational efficiency. The return on average capital employed (ROACE) rose to 6.9%, boosted in part by a reduction in the amount held as working capital. This substantial increase (2024: 5.6%) is expected to be a one-off.

Eneco continued to make major investments in the energy transition. The total sum of €468 million includes capital expenditure on heating grids, sustainable installed capacity, innovation and digitalisation.

Eneco signs up as a sponsor of the national championships for two year. Earlier this year Eneco announced its return as a cycling sponsor when it was revealed as the title sponsor fort he Eneco Tour fort he next three years.

“Cycling fits seamlessly within Eneco’s mission ‘everyone’s sustainable energy’”, says Mariska van Drooge-Parlevliet, International Brand Lead at Eneco. “Cycling belongs to everybody. As Eneco we want to once again bring energy to a sport that’s deeply rooted in society. Combined with our strong legacy in cycling races, such as Flanders Classics and the Eneco Tour, and other cyling events such as the Dutch headwind championships, this new collaboration feels only natural. By sponsoring the Dutch national championships we are not just sponsoring the best Dutch cyclists of the moment, but also the talents who want to become the best.”

“The national championships are the moment that the very best Dutch cyclists and the new generation fo talented cyclists meet. We are proud that Eneco joins our event as a sponsor. Their commitment to cycling and their ambition to get people moving align closely with what we stand for with the national championships. A championship that inspires sports lovers and offers a stage for the best cyclists of the Netherlands”. Says Thijs Rondhuis, owner of Courage Events and organiser of the Dutch national cycling championships.

The Whspr silent heat pump produces far less noise than a regular heat pump, so that it can be installed anywhere around the home, even on the property boundary. It also has a compact square design that gives it a less prominent appearance. Nevertheless, the heat pump offers the same level of thermal comfort. The Whspr is an ideal solution for people who want more sustainable heating without compromising on space and without uncomfortable noise levels for themselves or their neighbours.

Solution for terraced housing
Of the 8 million or so residential properties in the Netherlands, 42% are terraced houses. Many still depend entirely on a central heating boiler, even though adding a hybrid heat pump is more sustainable. Factors that people consider when deciding whether to instal a heat pump include what it costs, where to position the pump, what modifications have to be made to the home and how much noise it produces. The issues of noise and location are now solved by the Whspr. Eneco in Huis has spent the past months conducting an extensive pilot that tested the heat pumps for noise level, thermal comfort and ease of installation.

Results of the pilot
The pilot ran during the winter months, across a representative range of residential units. Heat pumps were installed in private homes, but also in rental homes of housing corporation Wooncompagnie, with conditions ranging from simple to quite complex. This made extensive testing possible of both the technical performances and the users’ experiences.

In the early stages of the pilot, it emerged that the heat pumps’ configuration was not optimal. After this issue was resolved, the heat pumps performed as expected. Feedback from users showed that the system heated the homes to a comfortable level and made little noise, either inside or outside. The self-regulating capability to determine when to activate and deactivate the pump was described as convenient, as was the pump’s low electrical consumption.

The pilot revealed several points to improve in the system, and the design has been modified accordingly. For example, two control buttons that only the installer ever needs to use are now covered, and several of the icons on the display have been made easier to see. Another finding was that the heat pumps are very simple to instal, even by less experienced technicians. A great benefit that emerged was that the pumps could be installed without adding an extra circuit group.

Finalised design
The pilot confirms that the Whspr heat pump is a viable and quieter alternative that works very well in terraced housing. Whspr expects to introduce the finalised design in July. If all goes according to schedule, by the end of the year the heat pumps will be available to customers who want to switch to a quieter and more sustainable heating system.

By combining Hekla Energy’s strong position in the Polish market with Eneco’s international capabilities in risk management, trading, portfolio optimisation and integrated renewable energy solutions, the companies aim to accelerate growth in renewable power offtake and power supply. The combination is also expected to enhance Eneco’s portfolio resilience and unlock further synergies through integration.

The acquisition supports Eneco’s broader strategy to expand its renewable energy and trading footprint, diversify its portfolio geographically and strengthen its integrated trading and flexibility capabilities. Hekla Energy will serve as Eneco’s platform for building a broader integrated portfolio in Poland, including renewable energy offtake, B2B supply, flexibility and trading activities.

‘The acquisition of Hekla Energy is a key milestone in our strategy to expand our renewable energy activities’, says Eneco’s Kees Jan Rameau, Chief Operating Officer – Integrated Energy and Assets. ‘Poland offers significant growth potential, and Hekla Energy provides us with an excellent platform to build a strong and integrated position in this attractive market.’

‘We are excited to partner with Eneco to take the next step in Hekla Energy’s growth journey,” said Gracjan Grela, founder and CEO of Hekla Energy. ‘By combining our local market expertise with Eneco’s international capabilities in trading and risk management, we can accelerate our development and deliver even greater value to our customers and partners.’

Hekla Energy is a Polish renewable energy trading company focused on renewable energy offtake and B2B supply. The company serves independent renewable generators and corporate customers, providing trading, optimisation and balancing services. Hekla Energy has built a strong and growing client base among SMEs and mid-sized corporate customers and is among the leading independent route-to-market providers for renewable electricity in Poland.

Hekla Energy’s founder and CEO, Gracjan Grela, will remain invested in the company and continue to lead the business, ensuring continuity, local expertise and entrepreneurial drive. The current majority shareholder , an investment fund managed by Forum TFI will exit as part of the transaction. A private investment fund based in Krakow managed by Forum TFI has supported Hekla Energy’s from inception through its growth phases preparing for the next growth phase under a new shareholder.

This choice of a new strategic and creative partner comes as the energy market is in upheaval. With the energy transition still a matter of pressing urgency, consumers and businesses are explicitly focusing more and more on affordability, reliability and direction. Eneco’s decision to invest more in its brand should be seen in this context and against the backdrop of its mission of “everyone’s sustainable energy”. The ambition is to strengthen its position as market leader and help more households and companies in the Netherlands and Belgium make confident advances in the energy transition.

Eneco’s International Brand Lead Mariska van Drooge-Parlevliet comments: “We believe that a strong brand is a key factor in helping consumers and companies to make the right choices in the face of the energy market’s increasing complexity. Dentsu Creative presented a persuasive combination of strategic understanding, creative ambition and a clear vision of Eneco’s role as a reliable partner that inspires positive change. We looking forward to working together as we continue to establish a distinctive and meaningful position for our brand, with a focus on connecting people, companies and society into a single future-proof energy system.”

Dentsu Creative’s Managing Director Campaigns Pim Beekman adds: “We are proud that Eneco’s partner of choice was Dentsu Creative. Eneco is an iconic brand, in both the Netherlands and Belgium, with an important role in society and a rich history of distinctive communications. Ever since our earliest talks, we felt that the teams were on the same wavelength. Particularly with the market’s increasing complexity, it is an exciting challenge to help build a brand that fills people with confidence and inspiration, and that highlights solutions instead of problems. We have already thrown ourselves into developing the first campaigns.”

Dentsu Creative was selected after an extensive pitch process that was assisted by Ivonne Boumeester, a consultant and partner at 3MO. The first communications under the new brand positioning are expected to start appearing in October 2026. Until then, Eneco will continue to work with Publicis on its ongoing campaign.

The buildings on Parnassusplein house approximately 3,500 employees of institutions such as the Ministries of Social Affairs and of Health, Welfare and Sport and the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets. Making the heating and cooling system in the two buildings more sustainable required an extra heat pump. This was impossible, however. One of the buildings did not have enough contracted electrical capacity, and the congestion on the electrical grid meant that its contract could not be expanded. As the other building had capacity to spare, the solution was to consider the two buildings together.

Looking at the buildings from a broader perspective made it possible to set up an energy hub. EnergieRijk Den Haag, grid operator Stedin and energy company Eneco are working together closely to optimise how supply and demand for the local energy can be matched. The buildings’ separate electricity contracts will be converted into a collective contract known as a Group Transmission Agreement. The buildings will only consume as much energy as the available capacity allows. This will not overstress the grid, so an extra heat pump can be installed to make optimum use of Eneco’s sustainable thermal source by the buildings. This will also make the buildings significantly more sustainable: at optimum efficiency, using the thermal system can save up to 124 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

To relieve the stress on the grid and improve the overall energy system, ERDH and Eneco are also exploring possibilities for integrating the district battery at Rijnstraat 8 into the energy hub.

“We need these kinds of smart partnerships that look beyond the energy needs of individual properties,” comments Stedin’s Regional Director Maarten Bijl. “That’s the only way to meet the rising demand for electricity. We can’t upgrade the electrical grid endlessly, so these innovative projects are a key to making the whole country more sustainable.”

“Improving the sustainability of these two office blocks has yielded practical experience with setting up and designing energy hubs,” adds Max Droste, Director Strategy and Digitalisation of the Central Government Real Estate Agency. “More importantly, we’ve learned about addressing sustainability above the level of individual properties. This will make solutions feasible that otherwise would be impossible. Together with our partners, we’ll consider where else we can apply this approach.” 

“A smarter and broader perspective of properties within a particular area, and seeing the heating, cooling and electrical energy systems as a collective unit, will offer great opportunities for sustainability despite the challenges of grid congestion,” says Director Ron Wit of Eneco’s Heating division. “If energy partners work together closely to make efficient use of our energy sources and the electricity capacity, a great deal can still be achieved in the Netherlands.”

The installation comprises a total of 52 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines, each rated at 15 megawatts. At full operational capacity, the Ecowende wind farm will deliver 760 MW to the Dutch electricity grid — sufficient to sustainably supply approximately 3 percent of current national electricity demand. 

Red Turbine Blades: Innovation to Protect Seabirds

One of the most distinctive innovations at Ecowende is the use of red turbine blades. At the initiative of the wind farm developer, Vestas is supplying seven turbines each fitted with a single, red-painted blade. The objective is to investigate whether the contrasting colour improves rotor visibility for birds, thereby reducing collision risk.

The principle behind the red blade is the creation of a so-called ‘smear’ effect – a visible colour contrast during rotation that birds can perceive more readily than conventional grey rotors. In the colour selection process, red was ultimately chosen over black and fluorescent alternatives based on its superior performance in terms of heat resistance and blade longevity.

Building in Harmony with Nature

Further mitigation measures include a dedicated bird corridor between the coastline and the Natura 2000 area De Bruine Bank, with wider turbine spacing and elevated nacelles to provide seabirds with greater clearance beneath the rotor sweep. Adaptive curtailment systems and radar-based monitoring with AI-assisted species recognition are also being deployed to minimise collision risk for birds and bats.

To assess the effectiveness of these measures, Ecowende is applying a range of monitoring techniques, including bird radars, thermal and daylight cameras, and impact sensors.

Offshore Installation Vessel Boreas: Largest and Most Sustainable of Its Class

Turbine installation is being carried out by Vestas, which manufactures the turbine components and oversees their transport and pre-assembly at the port of Eemshaven. Van Oord then transports the assembled turbines offshore aboard the Boreas. Once on location, Vestas completes the installation and commissioning — drawing on Van Oord’s expertise and the Boreas’s main crane. In addition, Van Oord is responsible for the transport and installation of all 52 monopile foundations, the inter-array cable installation, and the placement of scour protection on the seabed.

The flagship of this operation is the Boreas, Van Oord’s largest and most sustainable vessel in its class. The Boreas is equipped with a 3,310-tonne crane and has been purpose-built for the latest generation of ultra-large offshore wind turbines. 

Eneco has always maintained the position that no energy source can be excluded from the energy transition, including nuclear energy. It can be a relevant building block in the transition to fully CO2-free electricity generation. At the same time, Eneco sees no role for itself in the development, construction, operation or management of nuclear energy, in particular because we lack the expertise and resources required. The agreement concerns only an exploration of a potential offtake relationship. Eneco is not taking an equity stake and does not assume development or construction risk.

Bart Zomer, responsible for energy procurement and flexible sources at Eneco: ‘An affordable, reliable and fully CO2-free energy system benefits from a diverse mix of CO2-free sources. We will continue to fully commit to wind and solar, while controllable CO2-free generation can also play a role. That is why we are exploring whether electricity from a future SMR could be an addition to our diversified procurement portfolio’.

Dirk Rabelink, CEO of ULC-Energy: ‘We are pleased with this letter of intent with Eneco. Developing a nuclear energy project is a long-term process in which stable, complementary and long-term partnerships are crucial. Our collaboration focuses on the offtake of electricity. The fact that a major Dutch energy supplier is seriously exploring this option is an important signal for the broader feasibility of SMRs in the Netherlands’.

ULC-Energy develops SMR projects in the Netherlands based on the Rolls-Royce SMR — a 470 MWe pressurized water reactor based on proven technology, with up to 90% of construction activity taking place in factory conditions. One Rolls-Royce SMR provides approximately 4 TWh of CO2-free electricity per year. That is equivalent to around 3% of current annual electricity demand in the Netherlands.

Eneco and TIG Sports & Events have signed a 3-year deal, with the option of extending this to 5 years. This highlights not only the partners’ ambitions, but also their commitment to a long-term partnership with an eye to the future. Simac and NIBC, the previous name sponsors of the Simac Ladies Tour and the NIBC Tour of Holland, remain connected to the event.

The Eneco Tour is not a traditional tour race: instead, it is an innovative and compact event that showcases the strengths of the Netherlands as a cycling country on the international stage. It consists of multiple stages across different provinces, with a strong focus on the fan experience, sustainability and inclusion to create a modern and exciting sporting platform: welcoming, visible and forward-looking.

The Eneco Tour marks a new step in the connection between Eneco, sport and society. As an intrinsic part of Dutch culture and daily life, cycling and bicycle racing offer a natural podium for the brand experience and align with Eneco’s values. The years ahead will see the Eneco Tour become even more sustainable, while plans are also being made to share the Tour experience with customers. Examples include clinics and recreational tours.

Speaking for Eneco’s Management Board, Chief Customer Officer Selina Thurer says:

 “We’re delighted to make our return as a sponsor in bicycle racing. The Eneco Tour and cycling are a perfect match for our mission of ‘everyone’s sustainable energy’, so we’re very excited about turning the Eneco Tour into ‘everyone’s sustainable event’. The partnership with TIG Sports presents numerous attractive commercial and societal opportunities to create even more awareness of the Eneco brand.”

Eneco Tour race director Roxane Knetemann comments:

“It’s significant to be joined right now by a partner of Eneco’s calibre, with such a rich history in the sport. Eneco understands and appreciates that the future of bicycle racing lies in reinventing how the sport is organised: on sustainable and inclusive principles. Both men and women will have complete races, covering the whole of the Netherlands. We are building a platform that has not only sporting but also societal relevance, and that will generate confidence and energy for the long term.”

Niels Markensteijn of TIG Sports & Events adds:

“The Tour of Holland has always tried new things, being more compact and based on innovation, sustainability and the fan experience. Having Eneco as our partner to give this shape and carry it forward reinforces exactly what this event represents: a modern cycling race that puts the Netherlands on the map and at the same time raises the bar for the future.”

The pilot was open to households that had a fixed or variable energy contract with Eneco, plus solar panels and a Sessy home battery. For many of the participating customers, their reasons to have a battery are to use more of their own electricity and at the same time help the environment. The pilot gave them the opportunity to benefit financially as well. Over the course of a year, they shared data and partial control of their battery with Eneco. The results showed that smart battery management can play an important role in optimising solar energy.

Benefits for the customer: more self-produced energy consumed, less fed into the grid
The pilot’s participants were customers with an average of 10-12 solar panels and a 5 kWh home battery. For many households, that is enough capacity to store the energy produced by their solar panels and use it later. After a year, the benefits of a partially controlled home battery are clear:

• The average self-consumption of own solar production improved from 30% to 60%, for an annual increase of 1,000 kWh.
• The households were paid an average of 195 euros in fixed and variable monthly fees for control of the battery.
• The impact on the customers’ own battery use was minimal: the average time that the batteries were used for smart management was only 30 minutes per day.
• Since the households were qualified as small businesses trading in energy, and so helping to relieve pressure on the electrical grid, they could claim back the VAT on the battery’s purchase price.

Smart management relieves pressure on the energy grid
Besides the immediate benefits for the customer, battery control also helps to relieve the pressure on the electrical grid. Connecting the home batteries to its Virtual Power Plant makes it easier for Eneco to respond to shifts in the grid’s demand for electricity, for example at moments of peak demand or on afternoons with ample sunlight. This helps smart battery management to make the energy system more reliable.

Expanding the scope of the control service
Based on the success of this pilot, Eneco has decided to further optimise how it controls home batteries. One of the improvements will be to provide better information in the Eneco app. This will show customers how their battery is being controlled and what it yields, so that they can track precisely what their battery is doing and how much they will be paid. Later this year, Eneco and Charged plan to offer home battery control to a broader group of customers.

Director Roeland Nagel of Charged comments: “Thanks to this partnership with Eneco, home batteries can be used even more efficiently, with significant benefits for customers and for the energy system. Households with solar panels can double how much of their own electricity they use themselves, and having partial control of the batteries means that Eneco is better able to prevent peaks in the electrical grid. It’s a win-win situation for both battery owners and the energy grid.”

To find out more about home battery control, see this page about the partnership between Eneco and Sessy | Eneco (in Dutch only).

Rabobank provides the financing to acquire installations within Eneco. Eneco then provides these features to the business under an all-in lease contract that includes support services like monitoring and maintenance. This allows the business to remain financially flexible and to devote itself to its primary operations while still future-proofing its property.

“Eneco GroenGebouw makes sustainability a simple and easy-to-understand process for businesses,” explains Eneco’s COO Customers Selina Thurer. “In our experience, this support is very much appreciated by customers. Although Eneco GroenGebouw already handled much of the work, this partnership between Eneco and Rabobank now also offers the possibility for customers to make improvements to their business properties without requiring major upfront investments of time or money.”
 

This joint approach closely aligns with the role Rabobank sees for itself in the energy transition. “As a cooperative bank, we support clients and members in making their properties sustainable,” explains Rabobank’s Energy Transition Lead Robert-Paul Doove. “However, we see that improving sustainability is often a complex and capital intensive process. By joining forces with Eneco we lower these barriers and are making it more manageable to invest in more sustainability.”

From analysis to maintenance
 

Eneco markets GroenGebouw not only to business customers that own their properties, but also to commercial real estate investors. The one-stop-shop approach handles every aspect of the sustainability improvements, from an analysis of the property to advice about possible sustainability improvements, and from support with financing and subsidy applications to installation and maintenance of the chosen solutions.

In many cases this can lead directly to savings, especially when combined with smart energy management. Moreover, clients will get an updated advice yearly based on new techniques and changing market conditions, rules and laws.

At the time, Hagens said: ‘I’m grateful for this opportunity to join Eneco as its CEO, and to continue my work on matters that are important to me: reliable and sustainable energy for customers and for society. Eneco is a wonderful forward-looking company that’s passionate about the energy transition. I look forward to working together with the team at Eneco to accelerate the energy transition, which is of vital importance for our future and for growing our business.’

Hagens succeeds Kees-Jan Rameau, who had held the position of Acting CEO since the summer. Rameau will continue on Eneco’s Management Board, in the role of Chief Operating Officer – Integrated Energy & Assets.

Mel Kroon, Chair of Eneco’s Supervisory Board, comments: ‘We’re very grateful to Kees-Jan for stepping up to take on the role of CEO these past months, and for the success he brought to it.’     

Martijn Hagens was formerly Senior Vice-President, Head Business Area Markets and member of the Executive Group Management of Vattenfall. Besides his duties within Vattenfall’s functional line organisation, Hagens was also CEO of the group’s Dutch subsidiary, Vattenfall NV.

The European Union will shortly launch a tender for the construction of five AI Gigafactories, for which €20 billion in European funding has been made available. A prerequisite for participation in the European tender is that the Dutch government also makes a financial commitment, or pre-purchases computing capacity. In the latter case, the Netherlands would also receive a substantial discount due to the advantages of joint procurement. However, the tender deadline is approaching rapidly.

The Netherlands is excellently positioned to host a European AI Gigafactory, thanks in part to its high-quality digital infrastructure and the availability of renewable electricity from offshore wind. For this reason, several Dutch parties, including Eneco and Volt, have already submitted an expression of interest.

The project is mentioned positively in the report by Peter Wennink as a crucial component in strengthening the competitiveness of the Dutch economy. He also supports the call made in the letter from Volt and Eneco.

During the 4 months every year that Rotterdam’s skating rink is in use, it consumes large amounts of energy to maintain a high-quality skating surface. However, the capacity of the location’s heavy-duty net grid connection is available for the rest of the year as well. With Eneco using the battery to provide smart energy management, that capacity can be optimised year-round, to control imbalances in the electrical grid and potentially help Schaatsbaan Rotterdam achieve a cost-neutral energy system.

The connection has enough capacity for the 1MW battery to be used effectively at moments of a sustainable energy surplus, and to feed energy into the grid during shortfalls. The battery will make a huge difference while the skating rink is in use, by not adding to the pressure on the grid when the rink needs electricity. It will also help when the rink is not in use: besides helping to balance the grid, it will also help to reduce local grid congestion issues.

Cost-neutral energy supplies
Schaatsbaan Rotterdam has partnered with Eneco to achieve its energy ambition: making its energy supplies almost entirely cost-neutral. The rink has always been careful about how much energy it uses; this is reflected in its very design, for example the tunnel with light fixtures that covers the 400m track. This alone saves 60% compared with the energy used in an open design. The rink will incur even lower energy costs now thanks to the battery storage and Eneco’s smart energy management, while also helping to make the regional energy grid stabler and more sustainable.

With this new agreement, Eneco reduces the relative CO2 emissions of the natural gas it supplies by more than 10%. Together with the delivery of gas, Equinor will transfer to Eneco certificates of origin, named ‘sustainability qualities’, via a platform operated by provider Attributes.

 ‘I am very pleased that we have made this agreement, which includes this new offering, with Eneco, a major energy provider dedicated to sustainability. This is among the first agreements that we make on the Attributes platform and an example of how key European energy players regard Norwegian gas as a contribution to energy security and attractive also from a sustainability point of view’, says Equinor’s SVP Gas & Power Helle Østergaard Kristiansen.

Eneco’s Chief Executive Officer Kees Jan Rameau adds: ‘We are happy with this new deal with Equinor, a longtime supplier and partner. It marks another step to our One Planet goal of climate neutrality. En route to that goal, natural gas will remain a necessary component in the energy mix for some time, so we are glad that with this agreement we are sourcing gas with the lowest emissions available.

Attributes’s digital platform (see link: Home | Attributes | Energy Traceability ) provide independent tracking of Equinor’s emissions data to Eneco, as reported to and published by Norwegian Authorities.

Most standard heat pumps are fitted with an outdoor unit that produces a persistent monotonous hum. That sound is so loud that Dutch national building regulations require the units to be placed several metres inside the property boundary. For terraced houses in particular, this generally means installing the unit in the middle of the exterior wall. However, most people would prefer their heat pumps in a less prominent place. By contrast, Whspr’s silent heat pump may be installed only 30 centimetres from the boundary. Eneco and Whspr have fitted some 20 homes with installations to test the level of noise produced by the heat pumps in practice, without compromising on the residents’ everyday heating comfort.    

The pilot will provide information about both how easy the systems are to instal and how they performs in practice. The data from the pilot can then be used to further optimise the heat pump, so that it will be available for broad use by the end of the summer.

Trialling in various residential situations
For the pilot period, heat pumps have been installed both in standard locations in homes and in more complicated places, for example on the roof or by a shed at the bottom of the garden. Heat pumps have also been installed in several rental homes of the Wooncompagnie housing corporation. The period until the end of April will be used for extensive testing of the heat pumps, before further optimising the system.

For the mission, the Primoco One 150 — a lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with specialised cameras — was used. The drone took off from Den Helder Airport, following a pre-programmed route over the area where Ecowende’s Hollandse Kust West wind farm is being constructed, approximately 53 kilometers off the coast of IJmuiden.

“Our monitoring flights used to be carried out with a manned aircraft emitting 136 kilos of CO₂ per hour,” says Hermione van Zutphen, Ecology Programme Manager at Ecowende. “The Primoco One 150 UAV emits only 10.86 kilos of CO₂ per hour, although it flies about half as fast. This means we reduce our CO₂ emissions per flight by around 84 percent – an important step toward our ambition to build a wind farm with minimal environmental impact.”

Advanced technology for biodiversity research

The drone is equipped with the integrated HiDef video system, which captures ultra-high-resolution imagery. This technology enables efficient and accurate monitoring of the marine ecosystem without disturbing wildlife.

“By integrating the HiDef video system into drones, we are making a significant step in the transition from manned aircraft to unmanned technology for high-quality, efficient data collection,” says Christian Vlasak, Chief Engineer at BioConsult SH.

Milestone for the wind sector and aviation

The drone flight represents a first – not only for the wind sector but also for Dutch aviation. Conny van den Hoff, Director of Den Helder Airport, explains:

“What makes this flight so special is that it’s the first BVLOS operation ever conducted in the Netherlands in public airspace over the sea. In such a mission, the drone operates beyond the direct line of sight of the operator. We are proud to make our facilities available for these kinds of high-tech operations and to play a pioneering role in the development of drone flights for offshore applications.”

The operation utilised advanced technologies such as pre-programmed flight paths, real-time monitoring, and an automatic return-to-base function to ensure the drone’s safe return in case of system issues.

A more sustainable and safer offshore wind industry

By replacing manned aircraft with drones, emissions are reduced while safety is increased — no onboard crew is required for inspection or survey flights in offshore wind farms. Van Zutphen concludes: “With this successful mission, we are taking an important step toward a more sustainable and safer offshore wind industry.”

The Papendal Olympic Training Centre is situated inside a Natura 2000 area. For Papendal an extra reason to actively work on improving sustainability and energy-efficiency in its surroundings. To achieve this Papendal and Eneco have a close working relationship as strategic energy partners to gradually optimise the location’s energy management system, now with the addition of a large charging plaza.

Eneco eMobility developed the charging plaza and will also be operating it. This meant that Papendal did not have to invest capital for the acquisition. The 150 TeamNL athletes and employees who have an electric car can now easily charge here. The electricity comes largely from Papendal's own solar panels. This ensures optimal use of self-generated energy.

Besides the charging plaza and the solar panels, Papendal also has a thermal storage system within their energy management system. A large battery with smart energy management will be added later. This makes Papendal increasingly energy-efficient.

Herman Keijsers, CCO of Eneco eMobility, and Jochem Schellens, director Sportcentrum Papendal.

Participants’ home batteries have since December been being used to supply power to the grid to help reduce congestion and ease power peaks. Between 4pm and 9pm they will supply power to the net. Charging stations deliver less power during that peak or only start charging once the grid is less busy. This means the car will be fully charged a bit later, but still well in time for the next morning.

·       In the past six months Eneco, Essent, Zonneplan, and Frank Energie have connected about 85 home batteries that are now being steered to help relieve the grid.

·       Eneco, Essent, Vattenfall, and Easee have a combined 2,200 home chargers that are either enrolled in smart charging or where owners are avoiding the peak hours manually.

·       Greenchoice and Quatt will also start steering heat pumps.

All of this will contribute to relieving the electricity grid during peak hours. Concrete numbers are not yet available, we expect to have these in a couple of months.

Over the course of this year, the participants want to further expand the number of areas where the initiative applies. They will also look into whether home batteries can be used in the summer, for example on sunny days when a lot of electricity is generated by solar panels and fed back into the grid.

The role of COO-A will cease to exist, and the ‘Trading and Flexibility’ and ‘Assets’ portfolios will be combined. Together, they will be placed under the responsibility of a single Management Board member, in the role of COO Integrated Energy & Assets (COO IE&A). This position will be held by Kees-Jan Rameau, who is currently serving as Acting CEO of the company. However, he will rejoin the MB when Martijn Hagens takes up office as the new CEO on 1 March.

Mel Kroon, Chair of the Supervisory Board, comments: ‘We’re grateful to Karen de Lathouder for everything that she has done for the company, and wish her all the best in her future career.’

Trading and Flexibility is becoming a more and more important aspect in the development of new assets, with the energy system increasingly made up of different volatile sustainable energy sources. Besides wind turbines and solar panels, this also includes batteries and virtual power plants, as well as heat pumps and e-boilers for industrial electrification.

It make sense for these dynamics in the energy transition to be reflected in the roles on Eneco’s MB as well. Eneco already subjects its internal organisation and structure to constant efficiency reviews and improvements in pursuit of the company’s high ambitions.

Kees-Jan Rameau has served on the MB of N.V. Eneco and its legal predecessors since 2008. Since last summer he has been Acting CEO of the company, having previously held the position of Chief Operations Officer – Integrated Energy.

RSP announced deals last year to install shore power at the container terminals APM Terminals Maasvlakte II, Hutchison Ports ECT Delta and Hutchison Ports ECT Euromax. At these three terminals a total of 8 kilometers of quay will get shore power, with 35 different connection points available for seagoing container ships while loading and unloading. Each of the three terminals will get a dedicated shore power installation, organized in separate projects with their own contracts for construction and operations.

The contracts awarded to ABB consist of detailed engineering and construction of the installations, as well as multi-year maintenance contracts per terminal. Construction at the three terminals is, pending final investment decisions and granting of permits, expected to start in the second half of next year and ABB will work simultaneously on all three container terminals with the goal of them being able to accommodate vessels with shore power from the second half of 2028.
 

The projects to deliver green electricity to ships mooring at the three deep sea container terminals together comprise the largest shore power installations in the world at the moment, with a total power of more than 100 MVA. ABB will install tens of kilometers of high, medium and low voltage cables, and fiberglass cables, as well as converter stations so that both ECT and APMT will be able to have shore power available to ships at their terminals.

The Dutch government has granted subsidies to the projects under the Tijdelijke Subsidieregeling Walstroom Zeeschepen Klimaat (Temporary Climate Subsidy Scheme for Shore Power for Seagoing Vessels) of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

The projects ‘SPAR’ (APMT) and ‘EPORTS’ (ECT Delta and ECT Euromax) have been selected by the European Commission as part of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU’s funding programme supporting European transport infrastructure.