Energy sharing in Arnhem
Affordable and reliable energy
In the Arnhem neighbourhood of Saksen Weimar, we are working with the Municipality of Arnhem, the Energy Cooperative Rijn and Ijsel and the residents’ working group Energiegemeenschap Saksen Weimar to explore the possibility of sharing energy locally. The goal is to make affordable, sustainable energy available to all residents — both homeowners and tenants. In summer, many homeowners with solar panels generate a surplus of electricity, but they cannot always feed it back into the grid. That’s a waste, as the energy is lost. Ideally, this energy could be stored locally and shared with neighbours at a favourable price. In addition, the neighbourhood’s demand for electricity is increasing due to sustainable heating and the charging of electric vehicles. The available renewable electricity is not yet sufficient, and there is a risk that the electricity grid could become overloaded.
Energy community
Exchanging energy among each other can be organised within an energy community. If you produce more energy than you use, you can supply it to your neighbourhood. Within an energy community, members also agree on prices. This allows you to set fair long-term rates for what you earn when you produce energy and what you pay when you consume it. This is beneficial for all residents of Saksen Weimar, both homeowners and tenants. In addition, we want to capture excess electricity in the neighbourhood — for example, by creating a heat storage system in the bunker. This stored heat can be used in winter to warm homes in the area.
Generation and consumption in balance with the Energy App
To prevent the electricity grid from becoming overloaded (grid congestion), we are starting by coordinating electricity use among residents. That means not everyone is cooking, doing laundry, and charging their electric cars at exactly 5:30 p.m. To bring energy generation and consumption into balance, we will use an Energy App. This app helps residents understand their own energy use and the load on the local grid. By using energy smartly, residents can earn points that translate into financial rewards.
What’s in it for a resident?
In the short term, the Energy App gives residents better insight into their energy use, helping to reduce their energy bills. If the neighbourhood also manages to ease pressure on the grid during peak times, participants receive a financial reward. In the long term, the goal is to build an energy community where electricity is generated, shared, and stored as heat. If you supply electricity in the neighbourhood—because you have solar panels—you can receive compensation, even when net metering is no longer available. If you consume energy, you can do so at a favourable rate.
By aligning generation and consumption, the neighbourhood avoids the need for additional grid infrastructure or transformer stations, saving space, disruption, and money.
This project is made possible by a European Union grant (Interreg NWE program). Under the project name “ACCU,” Saksen Weimar collaborates with the cities of Bruges (BE) and Fourmies (FR). Arnhem is the lead partner of the project, meaning the municipality not only participates locally but also manages the European ACCU project. The project runs from 2025 through 2028.
If you want to know more about this project, feel free to contact us.
