The lecture with a refreshing take on energy transition invites us to rethink this topic.

The lecture is delivered by Chris Zijdeveld, retired structural engineer TU Delft.

His challenging subtitle of the lecture is:
" How, through well-intentioned naivety, we in the Netherlands are missing the greatest opportunities for a successful energy transition ".

Basic thoughts:

With the slogans: " The Netherlands off the gas ", " We're building energy neutral ", " Zero on the meter homes ", " All electric ", decisions are made that, with the best of intentions, repeatedly lead to wrong choices. Following slogans has become easier than thinking carefully and deciding policies based on proper analysis. Some sacred cows are now so ingrained that it becomes a threat to making the right choices. Using less energy is not more expensive and can even lead to higher thermal comfort.
We can already build houses that stay almost entirely warm during the heating season through solar irradiation and body heat of the occupants at no extra cost. Those houses can stay cool in summer without air conditioning.
We let that possibility slip away and talk houses up well with solar panels that provide electricity in summer that we would need in winter. This also overloads the electricity grid.
We think a car that weighs two and a half tonnes to move eighty kilos of people is a good step towards sustainability, throwing away millions in subsidies. What is worse is that this renders potentially good solutions hopeless, while further increasing the overloading of the electricity grid.
Does your Tesla run on coal or is it nuclear-powered?

It is time to start thinking again.

The meeting will take place at the headquarters of Traas Nature Care - specialist in biological control, biodiversity and nature conservation. There is much to see of this. This firm has been in the pest control business for more than 25 years.

There is also the possibility of following the lecture online via MSTeams. You can indicate this when you register.