The Hague, Tuesday 13 January – Eleven organisations working on the energy transition, united in the “Grond voor Verandering” coalition, presented a manifesto to the House of Representatives last Tuesday. The coalition calls on MPs to establish clear national rules on how municipalities should tender out their public land for ultra-fast charging and other functions that help accelerate the energy transition, thereby making electric driving affordable and accessible for everyone. This would enable municipalities to allocate their land in an open and fair way, giving new players in the charging infrastructure market a chance as well, helping speed up the shift to sustainable mobility.

The presentation follows a large-scale study, which found that hundreds of petrol stations operate on municipal land under outdated contracts that often do not even have an end date.

Grond voor Verandering was founded by mobility, energy and nature organisations, supported by experts in open data and transparency, with the aim of enabling zero-emission mobility. The coalition consists of Allego, Fastned, Electra, Vattenfall, TotalEnergies, Leap24, Vereniging Elektrische Rijders (Dutch Electric Drivers Association), Nederlandse Vereniging Duurzame Energie (Dutch Renewable Energy Association), DOET, Open State Foundation, and Natuur & Milieu.

The organisations warn that many municipalities still work with outdated and opaque contracts with petrol station operators. Established parties are often given priority, while new providers are given insufficient space to realise facilities for electric driving on municipal land. Among other things, this leads to a shortage of properly functioning (fast) charging facilities in cities and municipalities, while the number of electric cars is growing rapidly. Without open and transparent allocation of municipal land, infrastructure will lag behind demand. Grond voor Verandering therefore argues for clear national frameworks so that municipalities can use public land fairly, transparently and with a future-oriented approach.

“By issuing this call, we show that local authorities play a major role in supporting the transition, and can make it possible for everyone to drive zero-emission and charge quickly and reliably.”

Hugo van Halder, chair of DOET (Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport)

Presentation
This afternoon, the standing parliamentary committee for Infrastructure and Water Management received the appeal from Grond voor Verandering. Among those present were Habtamu de Hoop (GL–PvdA), Caroline van der Plas (BBB), Jantine Zwinkels (CDA), Robert van Asten (D66), and Björn Schutz (VVD).

Manifesto
The coalition asks the House of Representatives for clear national rules to help municipalities make the shift to clean mobility. This is needed now, because making land available for sustainable mobility takes years and the number of electric cars is increasing rapidly. The coalition wants a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels; wants municipalities to identify which locations are suitable for, for example, ultra-fast charging stations and shared mobility; and wants municipal land to be allocated through open and fair tenders, with clear quality requirements and equal opportunities for both established parties and new entrants.

The Grond voor Verandering coalition will continue to actively work in the coming period to realise the facilities needed for electric drivers, particularly with the municipal elections in March of this year in mind.

“The energy transition requires clear national frameworks. Open and transparent tendering of municipal land creates a level playing field. It helps municipalities make room for both established parties and new entrants to invest in high-quality charging infrastructure and that infrastructure is crucial to make electric driving accessible for everyone.”
Emiel van Steenselen, Head of Network Development, Allego

Woo investigation
The presentation follows a large-scale Woo (Open Government Act) investigation, which last year showed that around 450 petrol stations are located on municipal land, often under outdated contracts without an end date or with tacit renewals. The situation is at odds with European and Dutch law, which requires fair procedures and regular reallocation of scarce public land.