DC=DECENT Introduction Master Plan

Direct Current BV engineered and constructed, in cooperation with the DC Foundation (Stichting Gelijkspanning), the Master Plan DC Haarlemmermeer. Before and during the submission, the following parties have been conferred with: officials concerned of the local council of Haarlemmermeer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, Siemens, the Storage Company Horticulture Netherlands, Direct Current BV, Magneto Special Anodes BV, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

More meetings with other parties in the area of Haarlemmermeer will follow as they are also important to the realization of the master plan. A sustainable, reliable, and balanced energy supply that fits our era is essentially in everyone's interest. Our expectation is that the number of logos that adorns the master plan will be expanded.

In 2014, the district of Haarlemmermeer will have the very first innovative DC Grid in Europe in the pilot project DC=DeCent (Decentralised DC grid). This grid is "the smartest grid in the smart grids,” and it is the most reliable, sustainable and efficient energy grid imaginable. It is unique because it originated from a collaboration between government, industry, and knowledge institutes. The parties have jointly invested in innovation and sustainability, and together they manage this unique project.

The management of the DC microgrid is owned by all parties. They form a Joint DC Energy Company, the GEG (Gemeenschappelijk Energiebedrijf Gelijkspanning). This company controls the energy - supply, storage and consumption of energy - in the region in projects pertaining in sustainability, the national energy grid, and it organizes the flexible energy demand of all parties concerned.

The MVDC DC grid is unique in many ways. For example, it is powered by locally generated sustainable energy from wind farms and solar PV projects in the region. The district of Haarlemmermeer, Schiphol, and the market gardeners, will jointly deliver energy and they are at the same time the users.

With the MVDC DC grid, the electric vehicles to and from Schiphol are made possible, aircrafts are kept on electric current in a environment-friendly way, market gardeners deliver sustainably grown produce alongside sustainable energy, and the data centers obtain an extra reliability factor.

The innovation in the region Haarlemmermeer sets an example for other regions and cities with green and innovative ambitions. Each of them wants to use efficiently the sustainable energy they generate locally. Green energy generation, local energy storage, reliable energy transportation, sustainable market greenhouses, the cleanest airports in the world, electric vehicles, and stable data traffic. In Haarlemmermeer it all happens!