Page 55 - Green Builder Magazine Sept-Oct 2017

www
www.greenbuildermedia.com/champions-of-change-2018.greenbuildermedia.com/champions-of-change-2018

“The impact on society of near-zero marginal cost
CREDIT: CREDIT: COURTESY OF JEREMY RIFKIN ENTERPRISES/TIR CONSULTING GROUP LLC
solar and wind energy is all the more pronounced
when we consider the enormous potential of these
energy sources. If we could grab hold of one-tenth of

one percent of the sun’s energy that reaches Earth,
it would give us six times the energy we now use
across the global economy.” —-- Jeremy Rifkin

Join Jeremy at the Green Builder
Sustainability Symposium in January.

www.greenbuildermedia.com/champions-of-change-2018

The country ranks low among the Western European nations in The Energy Internet is comprised of four foundational pillars, all
renewable energy generation. In 2012, renewable energy accounted of which have to be phased-in simultaneously in the Metropolitan
for only 4.3 percent of total energy consumed in the Netherlands, and Region of Rotterdam and The Hague for the system to operate
renewable energy in 2011 made up only 10.9 percent of the energy efficiently.
used in power generation. In fact, the Netherlands is among the EU ■ ■ First, buildings and other infrastructure will need to be
countries that are woefully behind in reaching its renewable energy refurbished and retrofitted to make them more energy efficient so
targets and is only halfway toward achieving its global greenhouse that renewable energy technologies can be installed to generate
gas (GHG) emissions goals in the non-EU Emissions Trading System power for immediate use or for delivery back to the electricity grid
(ETS) sectors. for compensation.
However, the Netherlands has begun to embrace far more ■ ■ Second, ambitious targets must be set to replace fossil fuels and
ambitious renewable energy targets in the past year. Solar panel sales nuclear power with renewable energy sources. To achieve this goal,
alone increased in the first half of 2015 between 70 and 100 percent various government incentives need to be introduced to encourage
compared to the same period a year before, with the installation of early adopters to transform buildings and property sites into micro-
more than 2 million panels. While only 0.2 percent of the electricity power generation facilities.
generated in the Netherlands is produced by solar, the new data ■ ■ Third, storage technologies including hydrogen fuel cells,
points to a potential leap forward in adoption of solar technology and batteries, water pumping, etc., will need to be embedded at local
other underutilized renewable energies. A summary of renewable generation sites and across the electricity grid to manage both the
energy opportunities for the MRDH Roadmap Next Economy can flow of intermittent green electricity and the stabilization of peak
be found in Figure 2. and base loads.

www.greenbuildermedia.com September/October 2017 GREEN BUILDER 53

52-55 GB 0917 SUS Symposium.indd 53 10/11/17 5:21 PM