City Council Votes in Favor of Connecting Voorschoten to WarmtelinQ
The city council believes it is a good idea to install a single district heating system in Voorschoten. This decision was made at the council meeting on July 4. The city council also sees opportunities for Voorschoten to connect to WarmtelinQ, the pipeline that will transport heat from Rotterdam to Leiden. In the future, the heat from that pipeline could be used to heat a large portion of the homes and buildings in Voorschoten.
“An important step has been taken toward a sustainable and natural gas-free Voorschoten,” says Alderman Hubert Schokker. However, a district heating network won’t suddenly be in place tomorrow. “This is a process that will take years, involving many steps that we’ll take together with the residents,” the alderman continues. “What we do know is that many residents are curious about the plans for their neighborhood. They can find that information on the municipal website.”
Those plans have not yet been finalized. They may change over time due to new developments. Nor does this mean that every home and every building will switch to the same solution. The municipality will work out the exact details later in implementation plans. Building owners can choose for themselves whether or not they want to connect, provided they have an equally sustainable alternative.
T-fitting
As a first step following the decision, the municipality will enter into an agreement with Gasunie regarding a so-called “T-piece.” The agreement stipulates that Gasunie intends to install a tap on the WarmtelinQ pipeline, to which Voorschoten can connect.
Two locations
The council proposal also states that Voorschoten is reserving two sites near Hofweg. A heat transfer station could be built there. As the name suggests, this is necessary to transfer heat from the WarmtelinQ pipeline to the local pipelines that may be installed in Voorschoten. The station will also include a system that provides supplemental heating when it’s cold or in case of emergencies.
Noord-Hofland
The first neighborhood that can switch to a district heating network is Noord-Hofland. Noord-Hofland borders Leiden-Zuidwest, and there are opportunities for these neighborhoods to work together. For Noord-Hofland, the transition could be completed as early as 2030–2031. Alderman Schokker: “That may not seem very soon, but we do want to start discussions with the residents of Noord-Hofland soon so that we have enough time for this. In any case, we want—and we’ve agreed on this with the city council—to make ample room for communication with the entire community of Voorschoten.”
Heat Transition Vision
Alderman Schokker: “In 2021, the city council adopted the heating transition vision. Technical research was conducted for this purpose. More than 500 residents also contributed their ideas. That vision already stated that there are many neighborhoods where a district heating network is the best solution if we are to phase out natural gas. There are also neighborhoods where it’s better to opt for a solution on a per-home basis, such as a heat pump. An update to the Heat Transition Vision has now been prepared, which the city council also adopted on July 4. For example, the classification of homes and buildings has been adjusted slightly: in the initial vision, this was based on the neighborhood classification used by Statistics Netherlands (CBS); now, the focus has been on identifying which homes are best suited to be grouped together.”