Interview with Hylke Havinga of Ventolines on permits and storage locations

Energy Storage NL is holding an interview series with its participants. The month of June is 'the month of permits and storage sites', a campaign series to draw more attention to permits at municipalities and provinces in the storage sector. This time speaking: Hylke Havinga, Advisor Renewable Energy Projects at Ventolines. In this interview, Hylke talks about obtaining permits for energy storage projects, the importance of early coordination with municipalities, and the need for standardization and a national policy framework.

Can you briefly describe what kind of company Ventolines is and what your position is within the company?

My name is Hylke Havinga and I have been working at Ventolines for over two years now. At Ventolines we strive for a world where sustainable energy projects are valuable for everyone. As an integral service provider for these projects we offer support in all phases of a project. From development and permits to contracting, construction and management. I myself am part of the development team. We are at the front end of projects and help, for example, with site selection and the permitting process. But within Ventolines we also have other expertise from our legal, financial and technical departments at our fingertips, which we can involve in the process when necessary. Ventolines does not realize projects itself, but we support clients during all phases of a project. We are currently working for 31 unique parties on more than 70 energy storage projects. In total, those projects represent more than 5 gigawatts of storage capacity.

What are the most important criteria when selecting a site for an energy storage project?

In selecting a suitable site for an energy storage project, we apply a wide range of criteria, which can vary in their severity. Some are decisive - so-called dealbreakers - while others require more considerations within the broader plan. For this reason, we conduct a comprehensive site scan for each site, assessing all relevant aspects. Crucial is the availability of land, as well as its zoning; a site with an industrial zoning usually offers more legal space and a faster procedure than agricultural land. The distance to a grid station is also very important, especially in the case of stand-alone batteries, where proximity as well as the availability of a physical customer field determine feasibility. Transport capacity on the grid is a precondition: without available capacity, realization often does not get off the ground.

Furthermore, spatial aspects are essential: the presence of homes in the area, possible noise pollution, external safety risks, and proximity to sensitive objects or natural areas. The location in relation to existing energy infrastructure - such as Tennet stations, high-voltage power lines or gas pipelines - can also weigh heavily. Ultimately, the trick is to analyze these factors in context. The choice of location is often determined by the priority of the project: if speed is leading, an industrial location is preferred; if proximity to grid infrastructure is crucial, an agricultural location may be the better option - despite the longer permit process involved. We advise clients on this based on our experience and extensive consideration frameworks.

Can you share your experiences in obtaining permits for energy storage projects at the municipal and provincial level?

In practice, the vast majority of energy storage projects involve permits at the municipal level. Provincial involvement in energy storage projects mainly comes into play in the case of impact on protected areas (Natura 2000) or protected species. The majority of the applications go through the municipality, and in this we roughly distinguish three types: (inner plan) environmental plan activities, outer plan environmental plan activities and the amendment of the environmental plan.

What is striking in this is that knowledge and experience with energy storage among municipalities varies widely. Energy storage is still new territory for many municipalities. As a result, some municipalities are reluctant and prefer to wait for frameworks from the province or national government first. Other municipalities already have experience with it and are actually very constructive, sometimes even because officials themselves already have experience with a home battery or similar technology. That, of course, helps enormously.

A good example is the Energy Storage Westermeerdijk project in the Northeast Polder. There we went through a complete zoning change from agricultural to energy storage. It took a few years, but the municipality is now very familiar with this type of project. As a result, permit applications there now run very smoothly and they will also have the right knowledge in-house for new applications.

And what role do you see for the province in this process?

A big role. Municipalities really look to the province for direction and guidance. Many municipalities are willing to participate in energy storage, but want the province to set the spatial boundaries. The province of Groningen is a good example of this: in its 2050 environmental vision, it has specified where it sees room for large-scale batteries and where not. This helps municipalities enormously in making choices and daring to enter into procedures.

Other provinces, such as Flevoland, have done this in a different way, for example through pilot projects in a (spatial) experiment framework. Also very valuable, because that helps to build up experience and further develop policy. You now see other provinces looking at these forerunners and I hope that causes a kind of domino effect: if one starts, hopefully the rest will soon follow.

How is cooperation with environmental services and other relevant agencies such as fire departments?

Cooperation with environmental services and other relevant agencies is generally constructive and professional. Environment services play an important role in external safety review and are therefore increasingly actively involved in energy storage projects. However, the level of knowledge and experience varies by region: some services already have extensive experience with battery projects, while others are still in the start-up phase. What stands out positively in this regard is that there is a lot of mutual coordination and knowledge sharing between the various services, which promotes uniformity and quality in the permitting process.

What helps enormously is starting the conversation early on. By clearly explaining what you are planning and including their points of departure, you avoid ambiguities later in the process. This also applies to other parties such as the fire department and water boards; if you are open and show that you take their interests seriously, they are often very willing to think along with you.

A good example is (again) the Energy Storage Westermeerdijk project. There we included PGS37-1 - the battery safety guideline - as an obligation in the zoning plan. The environmental department used that as an example for other regions. That shows how knowledge spreads and how previous experiences can help others move forward.

How do you experience participation and support from municipalities and local residents for battery projects?

Different forms of participation are possible. In particular, financial participation is really a lot more difficult with batteries than with solar or wind. There is no fixed subsidy stream like the SDE, and the investments are higher and riskier. Still, municipalities often want to see a local contribution, especially for large-scale batteries connected to the high-voltage grid. That is sometimes complicated, because such a battery does not directly provide anything for the neighbor or the local grid.

Still, we always look for ways to do contribute something, for example through an investment in the neighborhood, an environment fund or through cooperation with a business park. The most important thing is to be transparent and to keep talking about what is possible. You notice that support differs per location. In the countryside there is more resistance, while on an industrial estate it is usually more easily accepted. And sometimes you literally can't even see the project from the road - then it helps enormously to show visualizations and clearly explain what people can expect. That creates trust and helps create support.

What are the biggest setbacks you've encountered in developing energy storage projects?

The biggest setback is simply the lack of cooperation from the competent authority, especially for out-of-plan environmental plan activities or environmental plan amendments. In those cases, you really need active cooperation from a municipality. If there is no policy in place and the initial response is reluctant or even dismissive, you can get into a lot of trouble as a developer - even if you are already far along with your plans. The risk is that you have invested a lot in a project that ultimately turns out not to be feasible. That makes early consultation really essential.

A second major setback has to do with grid capacity. Since the announcement of the TDTR framework at TenneT, we see that projects sometimes come to a complete standstill due to the unavailability of transmission capacity. That uncertainty causes projects to go on hold or sometimes even be written off. Such things are no longer thresholds, but real walls you run into.

In addition, what we are increasingly seeing is that municipalities are asking for confirmation from the grid operator that connection is possible - sometimes even as a hard requirement. That sounds logical, but in practice it creates a tricky chicken-and-egg situation. The grid operator is often only willing to make a formal commitment once a contract has been signed, while the developer often only dares to sign a contract once a permit has been granted.

This leads to delay and ambiguity. The solution lies in joint coordination: developer, grid operator and municipality need to sit down and agree on a workable sequence and mutual understanding. As long as that doesn't work out, situations like this will remain a brake on project development.

What lessons have you learned from previous projects that you now apply to new initiatives?

The most important lesson is that you need to clarify your project early on. Before making major investments, you need to know exactly what the spatial impact will be, how the project will fit into the landscape, what the distances to homes will be and what the effects will be on safety, for example. You have to be clear about that so that you can have a good discussion with the municipality. In this way you can manage expectations and see if there is support for the project.

What also helps is that we now have a lot of experience with this kind of conversation. We know what municipalities pay attention to, what is important to them. Issues such as spatial integration and local added value keep turning out to be crucial. Because we also actually build projects, we gain more and more insight into what will actually be realized - and that in turn helps in new permit procedures. For example, we can already indicate how high something will be or which systems are likely to be installed.

Within Ventolines, we also work iteratively. Our colleagues in contracting see what technical systems are offered in the market, and we take that knowledge into the licensing process. In this way we can respond better and better to what is coming and include appropriate margins. We try to find a balance in this: enough room for technical elaboration, but also sufficient comfort for the competent authority. The more projects we do, the better we get at it.

What is your take on the case for a national policy framework for energy storage?

I am very much in favor of this. A national policy framework helps combat fragmentation and ensures that the national government sets frameworks within which provinces and then municipalities can operate. It does not have to be worked out in detail, but it must give direction. For provinces, it provides guidance for drawing up their own policy, and municipalities can then build on it.

For developers, such a framework primarily provides clarity. It makes it easier to find suitable locations and assess what is spatially desirable. Moreover, it shortens the lead time. Now you often see municipalities waiting for provincial or national policy before they want to process an application. If that policy is in place, there is no longer any reason to wait and the process can be completed more quickly. It should really work as a kind of domino effect: from the national government to the province, and from the province to the municipality.

What are your expectations for the development of regulations and policies around energy storage in the coming years?

I expect a lot from that. In the coming years there will probably be new guidelines from the national government, and provincial policy frameworks will also be further developed. I think that energy storage, for example, will have a place within the RES (Regional Energy Strategy) and that it will more often be explicitly included in environmental plans - now this is usually done through separate permits.

An important development is also that the PGS 37-1 guideline, which is already in practice now, will be legally enshrined in the Bal (Decree on activities in the living environment) in 2027 (intended). This will then really become a hard legal requirement for battery projects. I also expect there to be clearer standards, for example for the environmental category under which energy storage falls, fixed distances from homes and noise guidelines. All this will contribute to a more structured and predictable policy for both governments and developers.

What is your advice to other developers or consultants setting up an energy storage project for the first time and looking to apply for permits?

My main advice is: realize that this is still new to everyone. For ourselves it is now fairly well honed, but for many municipalities, provinces and agencies such as environmental services and water boards, energy storage is still uncharted territory. It is therefore crucial to be patient and to explain exactly what you are planning.

Be transparent, explain the technology, the impact on the environment and the measures you will take. Involve the relevant parties at an early stage: first the municipality, then possibly the environmental service or the water board. And don't forget the environment. Make sure that you create support and that local residents do not get the feeling that you are holding things back. Talk to them quickly, show them visualizations, and explain clearly what is coming. There is a lot of uncertainty, but you can remove some of it through openness and cooperation. That not only helps your project, but also helps build knowledge and trust among all parties involved.