EWA is once again addressing The Hague with a clear message about energy from water

Letter to parties forming a government

The board of the Dutch Energy from Water Association (EWA) has sent a letter to the parties forming the coalition government, on behalf of the hydropower sector. In this letter, EWA urges the new government to explicitly include hydropower—such as wave energy, tidal energy, offshore solar energy, offshore energy storage, and Blue Energy—as a strategic pillar in the coalition agreement.

Onderweg naar de postkamer van de Tweede Kamer liep Peter Scheijgrond minister Jetten toevallig tegen het lijf en kon hij de brief persoonlijk overhandigen.

The letter is co-signed by MARIN, Buccaneer, Campus@Sea, the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), and DMEC. Leading knowledge and innovation networks thus underscore that water-based energy not only offers promising technical opportunities but is also closely linked to the Dutch maritime manufacturing industry, innovation infrastructure, and export position.

EWA brief mede getekend door NWP, MARIN, Campus@Sea, Buccaneer Delft, DMEC. Onderwerp: Energie uit water als strategische pijler.

Origin in Offshore For Sure

"The recommendations in the letter are not unexpected, but build on insights from the Interreg Offshore For Sure project," says Peter Scheijgrond, the initiator behind the project, in which fifteen partners from the Netherlands and Flanders are collaborating on concrete demonstrations of tidal, wave, and offshore solar energy and storage. Within this project, Bluespring (as project coordinator) and the Zeeland Environmental Federation (ZMf) are working together to formulate policy recommendations on permitting, experimental spaces, and the integration of hydroelectric energy into the energy system.

It is precisely this combination of practical experience with demonstration projects and close collaboration with nature and environmental organizations that makes it possible to make concrete, realistic proposals for regulatory-light experimental areas, accelerated permitting processes, a central point of contact, and long-term, stable policy support.

Strategic appeal to the new cabinet

In the letter, EWA asks the new cabinet to explicitly designate hydropower as a strategic sector due to its contribution to energy security, geopolitical independence, and the preservation and growth of the Dutch (maritime) manufacturing industry. The core of the call: include a targeted innovation section for hydropower in the coalition agreement, with space for demonstration (TRL 4-8), smart market access, and better use of offshore space through combinations of wind, solar, wave, tidal, and storage.

With this letter, the sector demonstrates that hydropower is not a distant prospect, but a concrete and well-founded component of an affordable, reliable, and autonomous energy system for the Netherlands after 2030.

Open the letter yourself below;

20251202 Brief van EWA aan de informateur copy.pdf

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