Story Equal-Stream
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Equal-Stream:
facing the energy transition with guts
Jointly buy and resell electricity in your own area? At Gelijk-Stroom they just do. This enthusiastic citizens' initiative runs entirely on volunteers. With a big heart for the future of their own neighbourhood: the Noordoostpolder. On this new - man-made - land, the wind is always blowing. Equal Power ensures that everyone - including those on a small budget - benefits from wind energy.
'We are real doers here in the polder: we have our feet in the clay,' says Judith Kets, chairman of Pioneers of the Future. Started in 2013 as a citizens' initiative for energy transition in the Northeast Polder. Slowly expanded to various components for sustainable developments in the polder. Energy Cooperative Equal Power is one of them. Currently, some 80 people purchase electricity.
Energy for and by the polder
'Our aim is to ensure that the energy transition is not only of interest to people with a wide wallet,' says board member Jan Bastiaansen of Gelijk-Stroom. 'We do it together. By and for the polder.' Making a profit is definitely not the goal. 'No, with us everything flows back into society. We give local sustainable initiatives a boost. The electric shared cars in Emmeloord, for example.'
The Northeast Polder fell dry in 1942, the Zuiderzee became land. Designed on the drawing board, intended as an agricultural area. Spacious, open and wide. Always looking ahead. Also when it comes to sustainable energy. You can still taste that typical polder mentality: tackling is in the DNA of this new land. Long gone are the leaders in agriculture and green energy. Jan: 'Flevoland is the province with the most sustainably generated energy and that is not because we are the largest.'
With a wink
'We all feel the urgency: we must take steps to keep this beautiful area as beautiful as it is. This green, sustainable thought connects us,' adds chairman Judith Kets of Pioneers of the Future. 'And pride, that too. The Northeast Polder is a combination of being able and wanting to innovate. Hup, put your shoulders to the wheel. But also: manufacturability. You can still feel that now. The pride in the vastness of this area, in our production of food and the mentality that prevails here. Seeing and seizing opportunities.'
Making people think. Without pointing fingers. Showing that as an individual, you always have a choice. That's what this enthusiastic club of volunteers does. Putting a serious subject like energy transition on the table with a lot of light-heartedness? Always with a wink. How? By handing out disco soup, for example. A playful way of drawing attention to food waste among consumers. Or with a theatre on location.
Together for a sustainable environment
Jan and Judith like to dedicate themselves to 'their' polder. 'Wind doesn't just belong to the farmer who has a windmill on his land, it belongs just as much to the environment,' says Jan. Judith adds: 'I love the Northeast Polder and its wonderful do-mentality. You literally get the space here to build a sustainable society together.'
