Activists claim the billboards will be a monstrosity (JOHN THYS). Photo of a canal in the historic center of Amsterdam.
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Amsterdam allows “ugly” solar panels on historic canal houses
Charlotte VAN OUWERKERK
Amsterdam's world-famous canalside houses will soon be able to have visible solar panels on their roofs, much to the chagrin of local heritage groups, who say they will be unsightly.
The tall, thin historic houses in the Dutch capital, which date from the 16th to 18th centuries, are poorly insulated and consume a lot of energy.
Solar panels are already allowed on the roofs of protected buildings as long as they can't be seen from the street. But now the local council wants to relax the rules even further in a bid to make the mansions more sustainable.
From 2025, the Amsterdam council will allow the panels to be “visibly installed on all roofs of monuments and buildings located in protected areas.”
But heritage activist Karel Loeff is outraged by the move.
“Of course, sustainability is very important,” he told AFP in the Grachtengordel Canal district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“But these solar panels are very ugly and should not be allowed on roofs visible from the canal,” said the 55-year-old.
“It would spoil the view of what you can see now, a beautiful original gable from the 18th century.”
- 'Chaos' -
With around a third of its territory below sea level, the Netherlands is particularly vulnerable to global warming, but it is also one of Europe's biggest emitters of CO2 emissions per capita.
The country's target of reducing CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, seems out of reach, according to official estimates.
The new coalition government, led by the far right, is expected to unveil its proposals early next year.
“We must contribute to sustainability in all areas,” said Alexander Scholtes, deputy mayor of Amsterdam's Green Party. This also applies to the city's 10,000 listed buildings, he told AFP.
It won't be the Wild West, he insisted, with rules about the color of the panels and how they are placed.
High energy bills mean that many property owners want to make their homes more sustainable, Scholtes added.
“We can achieve responsible sustainability with fewer rules and faster procedures and still take this cultural heritage into account,” he argued.
But Loeff is not convinced, predicting “chaos”.
He said he wasn't against solar panels on homes, but only outside the historic center.
- 'Without spoiling the view' -
Another heritage group, Friends of Amsterdam City Center, said that “installing solar panels in plain sight seriously damages the protected urban landscape.”
The capital is not the only Dutch city to relax the rules on solar panels. Rotterdam, Utrecht, and others are following suit.
The changes come at a time when the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency is pushing to make monuments more sustainable.
The authorities want protected buildings to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030 and 60% by 2040.
“There are approximately 120,000 monuments in the Netherlands, including around 60,000 national monuments, 30,000 houses, 10,000 farms, and 5,500 castles, mansions, and parks,” said climate change scientist Jan Rotmans.
“These monuments are responsible for 1% of gas consumption and 1.5% of electricity consumption in the Netherlands,” he told AFP.
“So we're talking about significant amounts. Making these monuments more sustainable can lead to significant energy savings and CO2 reductions,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Scholtes, 42, believes that all this can be done “without spoiling the view.”
“Even with solar panels on our roofs, the canal belt will always be beautiful.”
cvo/ric/fg
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