Ten municipalities in Twente are buying sustainable energy from Twence

Ten municipalities in Twente are taking further steps towards a more sustainable use of energy. Starting from 2021, the municipalities of Borne, Dinkelland, Enschede, Haaksbergen, Hellendoorn, Hengelo, Hof van Twente, Losser, Tubbergen and Wierden will purchase sustainably generated electricity from Twence, of which they are also shareholders.

On Wednesday September 9th, the cooperation agreement between Twence and the ten municipalities was confirmed and signed. This stimulates the production of locally sourced sustainable energy.

Uniting knowledge and experience
Alderman Jaimi van Essen explains: "The search for sustainable energy applications is important for a good and healthy future. Through the agreement between municipalities in Twente we are joining forces and sharing knowledge and experiences. The same applies to the purchase of energy. Twence is going to provide us with 100% sustainable energy, and is going to develop new energy projects in the participating municipalities. With the combined effort of Twence, the municipalities and the people, we are contributing to the sustainability of our region."

A few examples of energy use in the municipalities are street lights, the lighting of the city halls, bus stops, pools, sports halls and schools. In total this equals over 4,700 connections and approximately 36,000 MWh per year. This can be compared to approximately 12,850 households per year.

Cooperation agreement contributes to Regional Energy Strategy
The draft Regional Energy Strategy Twente (RES Twente) contains a proposal for the contribution of the region of Twente to the objectives of the National Climate Agreement to reduce CO2 emissions. The region of Twente has the ambition to be an energy neutral region by 2050. One of the objectives towards this goal is to generate 50% of the current used energy sustainably by 2030. Through this agreement, Twence and the 10 municipalities are contributing to this objective.

Electricity and green gas
"The energy transition is well underway. Twence can and wants to play an active role in this. Sustainably generating electricity is a good example of this. During the next five years, we also want to generate a minimum of 50% of the natural gas consumption of the participating municipalities as green gas. In addition, we want to generate 50% of the electricity consumption sustainably through solar and wind projects with our participating parties", said Twence director Marc Kapteijn. Kapteijn: “I am convinced that the municipalities and Twence will continue to grow together and, together, will increasingly fulfil the sustainability goals of our municipal shareholders.