Contributing to the Heat Transition of the Netherlands:
The Key Factors for an Operational Aquathermic
Community-Based Initiative
Bachelor Thesis - Future Planet Studies, Future Society
Student: Peer Moens
Student Number: 12377562
Tutor(s): Jannes Willems & Rosa van Schaick
Course: Bachelor Project Future Planet Studies
Date & Place: May 2021, Amsterdam
Acknowledgements:
Throughout the writing of this thesis I have received a great deal of support and assistance.
I would first like to thank my supervisors, Jannes Willems & Rosa van Schaick, for
their expertise and feedback on all of my work. Also, their quick reactions to my questions
via Canvas were very much appreciated. I am opinionated that your feedback has helped my
thesis to reach a higher level.
A big thank you goes out to the interviewees that helped me gain insights in the
results of my research. Thank you for your time and expertise on the subject and for being so
kind to help out a student in search for information.
A special thanks goes out to my physics teacher, Bertho Driever, who has explained
the laws of physics to me, making sure that I could start my study at the University of
Amsterdam. Without his clear way of teaching I would not have been able to even start the
study.
I would also like to thank my parents and little brother for introducing me to the topic
of aquathermics and their support during the writing process. Thank you for letting me make
my own choices throughout my life, even though some of them might not have been the most
convenient.
A small thank you goes out to my fellow students Ernst Koppen and Dani Sucahyo.
You have made my time as a Future Planet Student a lot more fun. Thank you for the
sarcastic comments and fun MP nights.
Last, I would like to acknowledge the help, love and support of my girlfriend who has
helped me through the whole process of writing my thesis and beyond. Your positivity has
made me a better person over the last couple of years.
Abstract
The Netherlands have stated the goal to become a carbon-neutral country in 2050. To
accomplish this, an energy-transition is required. In finding alternatives for natural gas to heat
houses and other buildings, aquathermal energy was mentioned as one of the options in the
Energy Agenda of the Netherlands in 2016. In the literature on energy-transitions,
community-based initiatives (CBI) have been applauded for their innovativeness and
problem-solving capacity, yet aquathermic CBIs have been an under researched field leaving
a research gap. In this thesis, the main factors that contribute to a realized and operational
aquathermic CBI were analyzed with the help of a qualitative case-study research. Seven
interviews were conducted with diverse actors and existing data was used as background
information. Codes were formulated corresponding with the created categories explaining the
main concepts of the research. These codes were linked to the answers of the interviewees,
using the program Atlas TI. This gave an insight into possible contradictions and similarities
within the answers on the same category. The key results of the research show that the most
important factors to achieve an operational aquathermic CBI are acquiring the financial
resources to complete a project, assembling the needed 70% of support base to ensure a heat
transition and possessing a variety of expertise and perseverance within the core group of the
initiative. It is concluded that if aquathermic CBIs are desired to play a role within the heat
transition, the options to acquire financial resources must become more numerous and new
initiatives must learn from their predecessors in order to not repeat the same mistakes.
Table of Contents
Abstract
3
1. Introduction
6
1.1 Research Question
8
1.2 Thesis Structure
8
2. Theoretical Framework
10
2.1 Research on Aquathermics
10
2.1.1 Spatial Risks
11
2.1.2 Technical Risks
12
2.1.3 Reduced Customer Reach Risks
12
2.1.4 Financial Risks
13
2.2 Research on Energy Transition-Based CBIs
14
2.2.1 Organizational Capacity
16
2.2.2 Financial Capacity
16
2.2.3 Social Capital
17
2.2.3.1 Bonding Social Capital
18
2.2.3.2 Linking Social Capital
18
2.2.4 Leadership
18
2.2.4.1 Transformational Leadership
18
2.2.4.2 Boundary Spanning Leadership
19
3. Research Method
22
3.1 CBI Ketelhuis WG
22
3.2 Measurement of Variables
24
3.2.1 Risks for Aquathermic Projects
24
3.2.1.1 Spatial
24
3.2.1.2 Technical
24
3.2.1.3 Reduced Customer Reach
24
3.2.1.4 Financial
25
3.2.2 Realizing an Operational CBI
25
3.2.2.1 Organizational Capacity
25
3.2.2.2 Financial Capital
25
3.2.2.3 Social Capital
26
3.2.2.4 Leadership
26
3.3 Data Collection
26
3.3.1 Interviews
26
3.3.2 Existing Data
28
3.3.3 Data Handling
28
3.3.4 Data Analysis
28
4. Results
304.1 The Risks of an Aquathermic Project
30
4.1.1 The Spatial Risks
30
4.1.2 The Technical Risks
30
4.1.3 The Reduced Customer Risks
32
4.1.4 The Financial Risks
32
4.2 Becoming an Operational CBI
33
4.2.1 The Role of Organizational Capacity
33
4.2.2 The Role of Financial Capital
34
4.2.3 The Role of Social Capital
35
4.2.4 The Role of Leadership
35
4.3 How to Interpret These Results
36
4.4 The Implications of the Results
37
5. Conclusion/Discussion
40
5.1 Limitations & Recommendations
41
6. Bibliography
42
7. Appendix
49
7.1 Appendix 1, Figures
49
7.2 Appendix 2, Tables
52
7.3 Appendix 3, Interviews
57
7.3.1 Interview 1, Waternet
57
7.3.2 Interview 2, Architect of Buildings on the WG-terrain
70
7.3.3 Interview 3, Initiator Ketelhuis WG
77
7.3.4 Interview 4, Stowa
84
7.3.5 Interview 5, Netwerk Aquathermie
92
7.3.6 Interview 6, Eteck Energie
101
1. Introduction
Due to earthquakes resulting from the extraction of natural gas in the North of the
Netherlands, the Dutch government decided to quit this way of energy supply in 2018
(Ministerie van Economische Zaken, 2019). This decision has consequences for the way that
houses and other buildings are heated in the Netherlands as historically natural gas has been
used (Van Thienen-Visser & Breunesse, 2015). A heat transition is therefore needed.
Especially because, in the Energy Agenda of 2016, the Dutch government has outspoken its
aim to become a carbon-neutral country by 2050 (Ministerie van Economische Zaken, 2016).
One of the options to replace gas as a heat source is aquathermics. In 2015
aquathermal energy was mentioned as one of the alternatives for sustainable heating of
houses (Horowitz, 2016). With aquathermics, warmth is extracted from water to heat
buildings (CE Delft, 2018). According to Waternet, aquathermal energy has the potential to
heat up to 60% of the buildings in the Netherlands’ largest city: Amsterdam (Het Parool 1,
2020). Yet some scholars are cautious on its potential and state that in theory the potential is
large, but the practical results have been lacking (Brolsma et al., 2013; Khan, Kalair, Abas &
Haider, 2017; Zhang, Baeyens, Caceres, Degreve & Lv, 2016). The use of aquathermics is not
nonexistent in the Netherlands as there are numerous examples of aquathermal projects. An
overview of the registered projects with the Network Aquathermal Energy (NAT) is visible in
figure 1. Most of these existing examples of aquathermics have been initiated by water or
energy companies. Yet, there is another kind of initiative that has been investigating the
option to use aquathermal energy as a heat source.
Figure 1: Overview of aquathermal projects in The Netherlands.
TEO=Thermal Energy from Surface Water TEA=Thermal Energy from Wastewater TED=Thermal Energy from Drinking Water Source: Netwerk Aquathermie (NAT)
Within the desired heat transition of the Netherlands, community-based energy
transition initiatives (CBIs) can possibly play a role. The focus of these bottom-up initiatives
is to reduce carbon-emissions and stimulate other forms of energy (Seyfang et al., 2013;
Akizu et al., 2018). Herewith, they can contribute to national policy objectives, such as a
carbon-neutral Netherlands (Rogers et al., 2008; Bomberg & McEwen, 2012). Their
environmental advantage is not the sole positive consequence, as there are often social and
economical results derived from them as well (Akizu et al., 2018). Members of CBIs are
often motivated by the social bonds that are created through them, leading to a strong local
coherence (Goedkoop, 2021), but for CBIs to become economically profitable, government
support is essential as it can provide financial and supportive resources (Akizu et al., 2018;
Igalla, Edelenbos & van Meerkerk, 2020). CBIs have been applauded for their
problem-solving dimension as well as their innovativeness in the scientific world (Edelenbos
& van Meerkerk, 2016; Torfing, Sørensen & Røiseland, 2019). These are two aspects that can
prove useful in the heat-transition of the Netherlands. However, there are still some doubts
among scholars regarding their actual scale and impact (Brandsen, Trommel & Verschuere,
2017). Furthermore, there is a research gap on the factors that explain the performance of a
CBI and its potential (Igalla, Edelenbos & van Meerkerk, 2020) as well as explaining its
success or failure (Edelenbos et al., 2020).
Although this thesis builds on the work of other scholars on CBIs, research on
aquathermic CBIs is relatively non-existent. More research is therefore needed in order to
estimate its role in the desired energy transition of the Netherlands.
This research will map the essential factors for an aquathermal CBIs in order to
achieve a realized and operational project. There will be special attention for a developing
aquathermic CBI, based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; the Ketelhuis Wilhelmina Gasthuis
(WG). The potential of this initiative has been recognized by the Dutch government as well
as several private actors in the form of financial support and will therefore serve as an
interesting case study within this thesis. Additionally, with the help of the Ketelhuis WG
case-study, this research can be an example for other CBIs, aiming to mitigate climate change
by switching from gas to an alternative heat source. In the upcoming part, the main research
question will be introduced, as will the corresponding subquestions.
1.1 Research Question
With the research gap on aquathermic CBIs and the factors that explain their potential and
feasibility in mind, the following main research question was formulated:
“What are the factors that explain the feasibility of an aquathermic CBI in the Netherlands?”
As it is stated that aquathermal energy and its potential are under researched fields,
more research needs to be conducted on the feasibility of aquathermic projects. The second
sub-question will therefore regard this subject:
“What are the factors that explain the risk profile of an aquathermal energy project?”
Furthermore, to answer the main research question, the relevant factors for an energy
transition-based CBI will be selected and operationalized. The corresponding subquestion to
this part of the research will be:
‘What are the factors that explain the feasibility of an operational energy transition-based
CBI?”.
1.2 Thesis Structure
The structure of the thesis will be as follows: first, the theoretical framework will be
established in order to introduce the main concepts of the research question as well as the
corresponding relevant existing theories and the indicators to measure them. Both
aquathermal energy and CBIs will be discussed in this part. These will be visualized in a
conceptual framework model.
Subsequently, a qualitative case-study research method including interviews and
existing data will be introduced. Furthermore, it will be explained how the indicators as
formulated in the theoretical framework can be measured in practice. Moreover, how the
analysis was performed will be explained.
After introducing the method of this research, the results of the analysis of the
interviews will be discussed per concept. Moreover, potential points of agreement or
disagreement among the interviewees will be mentioned.
Finally, a conclusion will be formulated for the sub questions as well as the main
research question. Furthermore, potential shortcomings of the research and recommendations
for future research will be elaborated.
2. Theoretical Framework
In this part the theories regarding the main concepts of the research question will be
discussed. Additionally, their relevance for this research will be explained and a visualization
of the categories with their links to the main concepts of the research will be introduced.
2.1 Research on Aquathermics
Thermal energy and its potential has been a research field since the 19th century (Truesdell,
2013), yet aquathermal energy has not received the same attention as other forms (CE Delft,
2018). Rather the focus has been on solar energy (Garg, Mullick & Bhargava, 2012) and
geothermal energy (Tester et al., 2006), causing aquathermal energy to be underexposed. One
of the reasons for this can be found in the fact that although the technique has been used for
over 30 years in the Netherlands, the term ‘aquathermics’ only came into existence in the
Paris Climate Agreement of 2015. Before this, it was often mentioned as ‘thermal energy
from surface water’, which now is one of the forms of aquathermics besides thermal energy
from wastewater and drinking water. Although it might be considered as a relatively new
technique, it has been proven to be a mature and functional alternative compared to gas (CE
Delft, 2018). Its potential is considerable as aquathermal energy is said to have the potential
to meet 40% of the demand of heating buildings in the Netherlands (CE Delft, 2018) and
herewith help to achieve a carbon-neutral Netherlands.
The technical aspect of the CBI works as follows: during the summer, heat is
extracted from the surface water through a heat exchanger. Subsequently, this heat is stored in
the soil to be used during the winter in a heat/cold storage. To ensure that this heat reaches
the operating temperature to heat houses, a heat pump, driven by electric energy, is installed
(ECW, 2020). The better a house is insulated, the less electricity is needed to assure the
sufficient operating temperature. This makes aquathermics less suitable for poorly insulated
construction and better for well insulated construction (Villasmil, Fischer & Worlischek,
2019). To ensure that the residents receive the heat, a heat network with the required piping is
installed (ECW, 2020). A schematic overview of an aquathermic system can be seen in figure
2.
Figure 2: Schematic overview of surface water aquathermics. On the left, the situation in the summer, on the right the situation in the winter. Source: ECW (2020).
The main advantage of aquathermics as an alternative for natural gas, is that it emits
less GHG emissions (CE Delft, 2018) as is the goal set in the Energy Agenda (2017) and the
Paris Agreement (2015). Furthermore, aquathermic projects could result in an improved
water quality, since extracting heat from water could lead to less (blue) algae growth,
botulism and an increased level of oxygen (Kleiwegt & de Coo, 2018). But the technique also
entails some risks. These are summarized in table 1 and will be discussed in the upcoming
part.
2.1.1 Spatial Risks
The first treated risk will be spatially oriented. With aquathermic projects, it is important that
the distance between the end users is small, as it will reduce the costs that need to be made in
creating the infrastructure for an aquathermic system (Ng, 2007). For the same reason, it is
important that the distance from the aquathermic source to the end user is as small as possible
(Kleiwegt & de Coo, 2018). These two spatial risks have an overlap with the financial risks
of an aquathermic project, which will be mentioned in the subchapter ‘financial risks’. There
are varying opinions on the maximum distance between the aquathermic source and the
customer for the system to function (Hassan, Kornitski & Jokiranta, 2009). Since an
aquathermic system makes use of a low temperature net, meaning that heat loss during
transportation will be minor (Van der Ven, 1893), some say that the temperature loss will be
negligible, yet others say that the temperature loss will increase with the distance that the heat
has to cover from the source to the end user and the heat loss is depending on the quality of
the used pipes (TKI Urban Energy, N.D.).
2.1.2 Technical Risks
With every project there is the risk of failure of equipment as these are inherent to
complicated installations such as an aquathermic system (Brummer, 2018). Furthermore,
other technical risks of an aquathermic CBI include infrastructural risks.
The infrastructural risk applies mostly to existing buildings switching from gas to
aquathermal energy. Changes in the existing infrastructure need to be made in order to ensure
a working system as aquathermal energy cannot make use of the same piping of natural gas
(Shabgard, Bergman, Sharifi & Faghri, 2010). Yet, for these constructions, not all streets
might have the required width to execute the required construction and in some cases the
street network might already be filled with piping for electricity, sewers and gas, leaving no
room for an aquathermic system (Vos de Wael & Glerum, 2012). For new buildings this is
less of a problem, since no existing pipes need to be replaced and the aquathermal system can
be the first to be constructed. Furthermore, making changes to the existing infrastructure is
costly and time consuming and will add to the financial difficulty of a business case.
Another technical risk that is often mentioned in the scientific literature is the
insulation risk (CE Delft, 2018; Villasmil, Fischer & Worlitschek, 2019). Because
aquathermics makes use of a low temperature heat network, a well insulated building or
home is important for the efficiency of the technique (Kleiwegt & de Coo, 2018). In the
Netherlands there are five different insulation labels ranking from best (A++++) to worst (G)
(Brounen & Kok, 2011). A label A or B is desirable when using an aquathermal energy
system (Kleiwegt & de Coo, 2018). The year of construction of a building does not always
say something about the insulation label, yet it has been stated that older buildings tend to
have a worse insulation label than newly built constructions (Moe, 2014; Kaandorp & Pessoa,
2020). This is partly due to the fact that for houses built before 1975 insulation was not a
requirement (Woonbewust, 2021).
2.1.3 Reduced Customer Reach Risks
Since the The Netherlands has aimed to be carbon-neutral in 2050 (Energieagenda, 2016), it
is the expectation that there will be a focus on energy saving in the future (Lancee, 2019). It
is therefore expected that the purchased heat per household or company will be lower in the
future compared with today, which will have an effect on the future revenues for the initiative
takers of aquathermic projects as well as heat suppliers (Kleiwegt & de Coo, 2018). This risk
will be defined as the reduced customer risk.
2.1.4 Financial Risks
The financial problems that apply for energy-transition CBIs in general also apply for
aquathermal systems (Dincer & Rosen, 2002). Creating an operational aquathermic system is
expensive (Khan, Rasul & Khan, 2004) and requires financing. Starting capital is therefore
required in order to finance the aquathermic installation. For water and energy companies this
is less of a problem than for CBIs, due to their financial vigor and possibilities (Van
Middelkoop, Van Polen, Holtkamp & Bonnerman, 2018). For CBIs, acquiring this financial
capital has proven to be difficult (Dincer & Rosen, 2002).
As explained in the spatial risks section, the more piping is installed, the more
expensive a project will be. Therefore for initiators, to reduce the financial risks, a densely
populated area is usually favored over a sparsely populated area. When installing the
aquathermic system, speed and certainty are important factors for the risk profile and
feasibility of a project, as they decrease the financial risks for an operation (Kleiwegt & de
Coo, 2018), yet there is always the undesired opportunity that financiers withdraw their
financial support in the middle of the process, due to their own reasons (Kleiwegt & de Coo,
2018).
Another technical risk worth mentioning is the amount of customers for a project.
They will account for the revenues that are needed to recoup the investment. If a big group of
residents prefers to find individual solutions to heat their houses, the financial revenues for an
initiative will not be sufficient to recover the made expenses.
Now that the risks of an aquathermic project have been summarized and can be found
in table 1, the following part will cover the factors that explain the feasibility of a CBI.
Risks of aquathermic
projects
Indicators
Values
Spatial
1) Building Density of the
Customer Area
2) Distance from
Customers to the Source
1) Residents/Km2
2) Max Distance from
Potential Customer
to the Aquathermic
Source
Technical
1) Possible Technical
Failures of the
Aquathermic System
2) Modifications to the
Existing Infrastructure
3) Insulation of the
Building
1) Analyzing Possible
Technical Failures in
the Aquathermic
System
2) Planned
Modifications in the
Infrastructure
3) Analyzing the
Insulation Value of
the Buildings
Reduced Customer
Reach
1) Consideration of
‘Decres’ (Reduction of
Demand per Customer)
1) Discussing Future
Risk of a Reduced
Demand per
Customer
2) Future Revenues for
Aquathermics
Financial
1) Starting Capital
2) Customer Amount
1) The Amount of
Financial Starting
Capital
2) The Amount of
Future Customers
Table 1: Operationalization of potential risks of aquathermic projects. Source: Kleiwegt & de Coo (2018).2.2 Research on Energy Transition-Based CBIs
Although the Netherlands was one of the first countries worldwide to implement transition
management in 2001 (Loorbach, 2007; Rotmans, Kemp & van Asselt, 2001), the country is
currently falling behind compared to other European countries regarding decarbonization
(Corselli-Nordblad, Allen & Sturc, 2012), due to a strong fossil fuel regime in which
incumbent actors have maintained a dominant role (Kern & Smith, 2008; Van der Loo &
Loorbach, 2012). This is in line with the assumption of transition literature that regimes are
generally robust to change (Grin, Rotmans & Schot, 2011). External shocks, innovative
bottom-up initiatives and internal structural problems can destabilize in place regimes and
force openings for change (Turnheim & Geels, 2012; Verbong & Loorbach, 2012). It is in the
opportunity to create regime change by innovative bottom-up initiatives that CBIs play a role.
CBIs are situated in the niche-innovations category of the three-layered multi-perspective
level theory, as visualized in figure 3. To create a change in the regime (the current structures
and practices), niche innovations are
needed together with pressure from the
existing landscape (broader contextual
developments) to create openings in
the regime in place (Geels, 2002).
Figure 3: Overview of the Multi-Level Perspective theory. Source: Geels (2002)
To define a CBI, the definition of Igalla, Edelenbos & van Meerkerk (2020) will be used: ‘a
form of self-organization in which citizens mobilize resources to collectively define and carry
out projects aimed at providing public goods or services for their community’. To analyze the
chances of becoming a realized and operating initiative, four factors were selected, drawing
on the work on the performance of community-based initiatives of Igalla, Edelenbos & van
Meerkerk (2020). These four factors, namely organizational capacity, financial capacity,
social capacity and leadership were found to be suited to fit the profile of aquathermic CBIs
and especially the case study on the Ketelhuis WG. The four selected factors, their different
forms (indicators) and how they are measurable in practice (values) are summarized in table
2. In the next part, they will be discussed individually in order to get a full overview of their
meaning, starting with organizational capacity.
2.2.1 Organizational Capacity
For this research, the definition of Eisinger (2002) of organizational capacity will be used:
‘The ability of an organization to fulfill its mission’. For a CBI, the organizational capacity
consists of two features: human and financial resources.
Human resources consist of the amount of volunteers that participate in a CBI as well
as the variety of expertise among the volunteers. Their role is essential because CBIs often
operate on a voluntary basis. With the help of volunteers, the total resource amount, time and
energy of a CBI is increased and the desired outcome becomes more realistic (Nov, Anderson
& Arazy, 2010). The variety of expertise among volunteers is important as multiple
knowledge fields are required as a CBI evolves. As an initiative gets bigger and more serious,
it will start to become a business rather than a CBI (Smith, Fressoli & Thomas, 2014).
Therefore, one specific kind of knowledge is not sufficient to become an operating project
(Martiskainen, 2017). As an example, if hypothetically all volunteers of a CBI have technical
knowledge, yet none possess knowledge on communication and marketing, the initiative has
a small chance of becoming successful.
Second, financial resources are required to realize a complete project. Moreover, they
are necessary to pay bills, services, mobilize new volunteers and communication and public
disposure (Foster-Fishman et al., 2001; Healey, 2015). Although this factor may seem
overlapping with the upcoming category ‘financial capacity’, the main difference is that the
financial resources part within the organizational capacity subchapter is about the skill of
acquiring financial resources and not the financial resources themselves. This skill of
acquiring financial capital is seen as essential for CBIs (Smith & Stirling, 2018).
2.2.2 Financial Capacity
To define financial support in a simple manner, it is the money provided to enable an
organization, or in this case a CBI, to continue. Often, the amount of different sources of
income is intertwined with the chances of becoming a successful CBI (Sharir & Lerner,
2006), yet one of the problems for many CBIs is actually acquiring these financial resources
(Bailey, 2012; Van der Schoor & Scholtens, 2015). For aquathermic CBIs, although a part is
occasionally filled with subsidies from the government, this is no exception. Their income
can originate from loans, donations, sponsoring or funding. Furthermore, to gain revenue,
registration fees and selling products are ways for a CBI to earn some extra financial
resources (Bailey, 2012). In this research, two options to finance the often existing budget
gap are considered: public financial support and private financial support, as these can
account for the biggest amounts of financial support.
Public financial support, deriving from municipal, regional, national or international
level is essential if a CBI wants to succeed (Dale & Newman, 2010; Healey, 2015). Although
it may seem contradictory, as they operate in the public domain, CBIs are dependent on how
the local government reacts to their initiative (Brandsen, Trommel & Verschuere, 2017).
Also, government support is useful to gain assets and to show volunteers that their initiative
has potential (Bailey, 2012).
Private sector support can also be an option for a CBI in need of financial resources.
Yet, in practice there are few examples to be found of private actors financing CBIs
(Hargreaves, Hielscher, Seyfang & Smith, 2013). This can have diverse reasons. The amount
of money needed to fund a realized aquathermic project is often too high for green NGOs
(Seyfang, Hielscher, Hargreaves, Martiskainen & Smith, 2014) and banks are not too eager to
finance aquathermic CBIs as it is a relatively new technique, which is considered as an
uncertain factor. Moreover, the return of investment is considered as too unsure (Mirzania,
Ford, Andrews, Ofori & Maidment, 2019) and they are unwilling to loan money to an
organization with an unclear legal form (Urban & Wójcik, 2019).
2.2.3 Social Capital
For this research the definition for ‘social capital’ of Putnam (1995) will be used as it relates
to the functioning and performance of a CBI: ‘features of social life (networks, norms and
trust) that enable participants to act together more effectively to pursue shared objectives’.
Because CBIs often have limited availability of financial resources, they partly rely on social
capital for their success (Newman et al., 2008). Within social capital, two distinctions will be
made: bonding and linking social capital as they have different, yet both relevant, social
dimensions within aquathermic CBIs. First, bonding social capital will be explained,
followed by linking social capital.
2.2.3.1 Bonding Social Capital
To explain bonding social capital, the definition of Szreter & Woolcock (2004) is
used: ‘trusting and cooperative relations between members of a network who see themselves
as being similar, in terms of their social identity’. In a CBI, usually the core group exists out
of persons that see their social identity as being similar (Newman et al., 2008). Dietz, Ostrom
& Stern (2003) state that bonding social capital is extremely important in community
organizing and is often found in the core group of a CBI.
2.2.3.2 Linking Social Capital
If multiple actors know themselves to be unequal in their power and access to resources, but
decide to exchange ties, it is called linking social capital (Szreter, 2002). These are ties
between a CBI and the government, funding agencies or other institutions (Dale & Newman,
2010). Hoppe et al. (2015), who conducted multiple case-studies on the strategies towards a
successful green CBI, found that close interaction and mutual trust between the local
government and representatives of a local initiative is essential in creating a successful CBI.
2.2.4 Leadership
The concept ‘leadership’ can be defined as ‘mobilizing people to tackle tough problems’
(Hartley & Allison, 2000). Yet for this research this definition seems too simplified.
Therefore, the following definition is selected: ‘the dynamic relationship between and among
individuals, groups and organizations’ (Igalla, Edelenbos & van Meerkerk, 2020). In this
research there will be a focus on transformational leadership (TFL) and boundary spanning
leadership (BSL). Both are considered as relevant forms of leadership in the case of an
energy transition CBI such as the Ketelhuis WG, because their different characters give a
complete overview of the category ‘leadership’. Both internal as well as external leadership
can be tested through these concepts. First, TFL will be explained, which after the theory on
BSL will be treated.
2.2.4.1 Transformational Leadership
Transformational leaders focus on stimulating creativity and innovativeness of those around
them (Bass et al., 2003). This can apply to the organizational level of a CBI as well as the
community level. They can inspire and direct followers and are able to clearly express the
importance of an organization’s mission and future (Wright, Moynihan & Pandey, 2012;
Phillips & Pittman, 2009). Wright et al. (2012) point out the importance of TFL in CBIs, as
their mission is strongly community-based oriented. Because CBIs are characterized by their
aim for a strong community, social relationships and development of their own experiments
(Boonstra & Boelens, 2011; Voorberg, Bekkers & Tummers, 2015), TFL is important as it
can serve as a source of inspiration for the volunteers and assure intellectual stimulation
(Wright, Moynihan & Pandey, 2012).
To add, TFL has influence on the previously mentioned indicator organizational
capacity (Foster-Fishman et al., 2001). In order to build human and financial resources, TFL
plays an important part as inspirational leaders can inspire others and set out clear long term
plans (Wright, Moynihan & Pandey, 2012). With their ability to develop a vision that
connects people and creates a common ground between them, transformational leaders can
affect the level of social capital as well (Purdue, 2001).
2.2.4.2 Boundary Spanning Leadership
As opposed to the internal orientation of TFL, the other feature of leadership can be found
outside of the CBI. This part is called boundary spanning leadership (BSL) and stresses the
urge to adapt to the environment to become part of it in order to enhance the performance of
the CBI (Aldrich & Herker, 1977). BSL especially is important in gaining the needed
resources and finding opportunities for a CBI to grow or innovate (Van Meerkerk &
Edelenbos, 2018). In this respect, it links to the previously mentioned linking social capital
indicator. Boundary spanning leaders are characterized by their skill of successfully
contacting governmental institutions and other actors that can possibly help their initiative
progress (Miller, 2008). Many CBIs, like Ketelhuis WG, are dependent on external resources.
Therefore, BSL is seen as an important factor within CBIs (Edelenbos, van Meerkerk &
Schenk, 2018). Empathy, a good feeling for the interest of other actors, communicative skills
and conflict resolution expertise are among the competencies of a capable boundary spanning
leader (Williams, 2002).
Since it is important for boundary spanning leaders to develop as well as maintain
relationships, they can have an impact on the level of social capital (Dale & Newman, 2010).
For example, linking ties can be increased by spending time on contact with institutional
partners to find out their goals and policy needs (Van Meerkerk & Edelenbos, 2018).
Factors that explain the
feasibility of a CBI
Indicators
Values
Organizational Capacity
1) Financial Resources
2) Human Resources
1) Amount of Different
Revenue Sources
2) Amount of
Volunteers
3) Variety of Expertise
among Volunteers
Financial Capital (FC)
1) Public FC
2) Private FC
1) Amount of Public
Financial Support
2) Options for Public
Financial Support
3) Amount of Private
Financial Support
4) Options for Private
Financial Support
Social Capital (SC)
1) Bonding SC
2) Linking SC
1) Frequency of
interaction between
core group members
2) Frequency of
interaction with
possible linking
actors
Leadership
1) Transformational
Leadership
2) Boundary Spanning
Leadership
1) Neighbourhood
Meetings and
Newsletters
2) Contact with Actors
Outside the CBI
Table 2: Operationalization of the concept ‘community-based initiative (CBI)’.Figure 4 is a visualization of all treated categories of the two main concepts of the
research question and their corresponding indicators. Summarizing, the categories that have
an influence on the risk profile of an aquathermic project are spatial, technical, reduced
customer reach and financial. The categories that explain the feasibility of an
energy-transition based CBI are organizational capacity, financial capacity, social capacity
and leadership. Together, the aquathermic project risks and the factors that explain the
feasibility of a CBI will lead to an answer to the main research question: “What are the
factors that explain the feasibility of an aquathermic CBI in the Netherlands?”.
Now that all categories and the theories explaining them have been elaborated, the
next chapter will treat how these categories will be measured in practice. Furthermore, the
case study of the Ketelhuis WG will be introduced.
3. Research Method
The goal of this research is to find out how aquathermic CBIs can become realized and
operational. To find out, a qualitative case-study research was conducted as it allows one to
examine a problem in detail by using a specific set of research methods such as interviews
and content analysis (Hennink & Hutter & Bailey, 2020). In this thesis, the Ketelhuis WG
was taken as a case-study example as it is one of the few aquathermic CBIs situated in the
centre of a big city in the Netherlands, making it an interesting initiative to look at in regard
to the potential of aquathermic CBIs in urban environments. Furthermore, the actual potential
of the Ketelhuis WG has been noticed by the Dutch government as they have already funded
a substantial amount of money (7.7 million euros) to the project (Het Parool 2, 2020).
In the upcoming part, the Ketelhuis WG will be elaborated further, followed by the
explanation of the measuring of the selected variables.
3.1 CBI Ketelhuis WG
The Ketelhuis WG initiative was initiated by residents of the Wilhelmina Gasthuis area
(figure 5) and originally started in 2018 with an email of one of the initiators to its fellow
buildings’ residents orientating the interest to explore possible options for a more sustainable
option to heat their houses. There appeared to be enthusiasm among the residents and soon
three core principles were formulated:
1) The new form of heat needed to be affordable, meaning that it should not cost more
than the current price of natural gas.
2) The new form of heat had to be sustainable and fossil energy free.
3) The new form of heat had to be local and for the use of the residents of the WG-area
only.
With these three core principles in mind ten possible techniques were compared,
whichafter aquathermics was chosen as it is a local, controllable, technically interesting and
relatively cheap option to heat buildings. In 2020, a request to become eligible for a state
subsidy was submitted and approved as the initiative was selected as one of the pilot projects
of the Dutch state in search of an alternative method to heat houses (PAW, 2020). With this
selection came a subsidy of 7.7 million euros.
Figure 5: Selected area ‘Ketelhuis WG’. Source: Ketelhuis WG Amsterdam (2020).
