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Dutch King praises Utrecht for the city’s natural-gas-free neigbourhood plan
Dutch King Willem-Alexander visited Utrecht and commended its gas-free neighbourhood plan.
Under Mayor of Utrecht Sharon Dijksma, the city adopted a natural-gas free approach in Overvecht neighbourhood.
As part of Utrecht’s environmental efforts, the city completed an example house with fully electric heating, which Willem-Alexander previously visited in 2018.
Deputy Mayor Lot van Hooijdonk showed the King and Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning Hugo de Jonge around the neighbourhood.
The example house boasts heat pumps and efficient insulation, which help to save energy and make it more environmentally friendly.
After visiting the house, the three officials visited the Inside Out consortium, which comprises entities including the Bo-Ex real estate company and the Utrecht University, which has developed a new energy-efficient system for residential buildings.
The system includes heat pumps and solar panels, helping to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
The officials attended a roundtable discussion on Utrecht’s plan to make 355 homes gas-free by replacing gas stoves with electric ones.
They also discussed the effects of increased energy prices with social organisations, noting that rising prices are affecting the energy transition.
Utrecht authorities reminded that the Netherlands plans to make all homes gas-free by 2050, with Overvecht one of the first neighbourhoods in Utrecht to move away from natural gas.879
