Angry because Amsterdam allows ‘ugly’ solar panels on historic canal houses
Amsterdam’s world-famous canal houses may soon have visible solar panels on their roofs, much to the dismay of local heritage groups, who say they will be an eyesore.
The tall, thin historic houses from the 16th to the 18th century in the Dutch capital are poorly insulated and consume a lot of energy.
Solar panels are already allowed on the roofs of listed buildings, as long as they cannot be seen from the street. But now the municipality wants to relax the rules further in an attempt to make the mansions more sustainable.
From 2025, the municipality of Amsterdam will allow panels to be “visibly installed on all roofs of monuments and buildings located in protected areas”.
But heritage activist Karel Loeff is rebelling against the change.
“Of course sustainability is very important,” he told AFP in the Canal Belt, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“But these solar panels are really ugly and are not allowed on roofs that are visible from the canal,” said the 55-year-old.
“It would clearly obscure the view of what you can see now, a beautiful original 18th century facade.”
– ‘Chaos’ –
Because about a third of the country lies below sea level, the Netherlands is particularly vulnerable to global warming, but is also one of Europe’s largest emitters of CO2 emissions per capita.
The country’s goal of cutting CO2 emissions by 55 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 appears unattainable, 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,” says Alexander Scholtes, deputy mayor of the Green Party of Amsterdam. This includes the city’s 10,000 listed buildings, he told AFP.
It won’t be the Wild West, he emphasized, with rules about the color of the panels and how they are placed.
Due to the high energy bills, many homeowners want to make their homes more sustainable, says Scholtes.
“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 and predicts ‘chaos’.
He said he is not against solar panels on homes, but only against the historic center.
– ‘Without spoiling the view’ –
Another heritage organization, the Friends of the Amsterdam City Center, says that “placing solar panels in plain sight causes serious damage to the protected urban landscape.”
The capital is not the only Dutch city to relax the rules for solar panels. Rotterdam, Utrecht and others are following this example.
The changes come at a time when the Cultural Heritage Agency is committed to making monuments more sustainable.
Authorities want protected buildings to reduce CO2 emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and 60 percent by 2040.
“There are approximately 120,000 monuments in the Netherlands, including about 60,000 national monuments, 30,000 homes, 10,000 farms and 5,500 castles, country houses and parks,” says climate scientist Jan Rotmans.
“These monuments account for one percent of gas and 1.5 percent of electricity consumption in the Netherlands,” he told AFP.
“So we are talking about significant quantities. Making these monuments more sustainable can lead to significant energy savings and CO2 reductions,” he said.
Deputy mayor Scholtes (42) thinks that all this can be done “without spoiling the view”.
“Even with solar panels on our roofs, the canal belt always remains beautiful.”
