Following the Nantes Innovation Forum, we have had the chance to interview Franzisca Beeken, policy officer energy transition at the municipality of Groningen.
Your city is very engaged in energy transition, so can you tell us more about the projects you are currently following?
Personally, I’m involved in two projects: the first one is “Energy Loket Groningen” , our one-stop shop for individual and citizens initiatives. At the beginning of the year we made free heat-scans of 500 houses and asked the state what measures could be taken. We have also received a national subsidy which enables us to give away 9000 energy boxes for around 50€, that can be chosen by citizens on the internet through a voucher code and picked up at local hardware stores.
The second project I’m involved in is the Windplatform, in order to study if it is possible to place windmills within the borders of the city: This is still a process to be decided together with the citizens. We are still conducting research, studying the bats, the birds and their flying behaviors.
Another very interesting EU initiative is the Making City project, which sees Groningen as one of the leading cities or lighthouse cities. Its aim is to create neighborhoods that share clean energy among them : so, how does this project work, and what has been the impact on the city?
Read the full article published by Euradio
