Willem Vermeend wants action

"Think big and dare to invest now!"

Willem Vermeend is a man of action. In the late 1990s, he and Gerrit Zalm, then State Secretary for Finance, devised a programme of major tax reforms which they implemented in just three years. Today he is calling for a more dynamic approach to sustainable energy. "The Dutch government has been too slow to act," he comments.

Our interview with Willem Vermeend took place a day after the American newspapers had led with headlines such as "Oh, bama!" and "Our 44th - and our FIRST." The new president's inauguration speech was still fresh in everyone's mind. Barack Obama had promised "bold and swift" action to help the economy back on its feet. "We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. [...] We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories." Such promises are precisely what Willem Vermeend wanted to hear. "Barack Obama understands that now is the right time to make substantial investments in sustainable energy. Our fossil fuel resources, including the Dutch gas fields, will be depleted within the next fifty years. Energy is gradually becoming more expensive, and the tensions between countries are increasing as a result." According to Vermeend, the Netherlands must invest many billions of euros if we are to avoid 'falling even further behind'. "We must also invest in the energy infrastructure. Our existing grids were designed with fossil fuels in mind, but we are now in the twilight years of the 'Gas Age'."

In this context, Vermeend is astonished that TenneT has been instructed to cut costs by 2.1 percent per annum over the next three years. "Reducing investment is the worst possible course of action at this time. The Dutch government has been too slow to act. It lacks vision and creativity. No government should be cutting back; it should be prioritising investments in sustainable energy. That calls for focus. We must make firm agreements about what we are going to do in pursuit of sustainability and exactly when we are going to do it. It's as simple as that. No more prevarication or procrastination!"

Mega wind farm

Vermeend wants ministers such as Jan Peter Balkenende and Wouter Bos to take action now. They should ensure that the Netherlands is able to open the world's largest wind farm by the year 2018. This, he suggests, would be able to meet over twenty percent of the demand for electricity. But why wind energy? "Biomass offers limited opportunities and has too many disadvantages. Solar power is promising, but wind power would be the quickest way to make the difference in our country. My proposal is for a 'mega' wind farm developed especially for the deepsea offshore region, with each turbine producing at least six megawatts. An offshore location will be more efficient given the higher winds, while we will also avoid all the objections about visual pollution and obstructions to shipping." Vermeend firmly believes that this initiative would do much to bolster the national economy. "We have companies able to build excellent offshore platforms which can remain in service for at least fifty to seventy years. The wind turbines can be transported to the platforms by heavy-duty helicopters or on specially designed pontoons, and installed on site. The turbines themselves can be produced in the world's largest specialist factory, which could itself be built in the Eemshaven port in Groningen province, for example. We would then be creating an entire manufacturing industry with some fifty thousand new jobs. We would also be creating innovative new technology which will become a viable export product."

To integrate the output of new offshore wind farms into the energy distribution system will call for major investments in the transmission grids, Vermeend continues. "Sometimes the wind blows hard, and sometimes it doesn't. No one can control that. We must therefore ensure that any surplus electricity can be sold to other countries." Some people suggest that the scheme calls for artificial islands to be raised. Vermeend disagrees. "I thought about this idea and did the calculations. It would be much too expensive. Moreover, it is unnecessary for the purposes of storage. Even without islands you can pump up water to be used to drive turbines later, when you actually need the electricity."

Vermeend's concept of the offshore 'mega' wind farm is a major step towards centralised, sustainable energy production. Nevertheless, he also acknowledges the advantages of small-scale, decentralised production, and believes that the grid should be adapted accordingly. "This is a more gradual process, but it will also be important in the future. All new homes and offices should now be designed to allow the addition of solar panels at a later date."

Emergency legislation

One of the key features of Vermeend's approach is that it is to be a national undertaking. This does not mean that he dismisses the European context out of hand. Indeed, he regards interconnections between the Netherlands and other European countries as a very welcome development. However, he maintains the view the initiative must be taken by Netherlands itself. That also applies to his 'mega' wind farm. "We must not wait for Europe to announce the construction of a 'supergrid'. Rather, we must make our own plans which allow for connection to the supergrid if and when it ever materialises. Taking the European approach from the outset will inevitably lead to delays."

Vermeend further believes that drastic changes to national legislation are needed in order to prioritise the production and use of sustainable energy. Current legislation does not adequately address the specific features of new types of energy, whereupon investment is likely to suffer unnecessary delays, as TenneT has already experienced. "It will only be possible to attain the targets by 2018 if the government takes the appropriate procedural measures. If it fails to take action, the entire process will become bogged down in red tape. We need emergency legislation which can be pushed through as quickly as possible, just as the minister of transport has introduced provisions to tackle congestion on the roads."