A Restless Transition. Towards a Regional Energy Transition.

Abstract

Each region in the Netherlands has to develop a regional energy strategy (RES). Inter-municipal cooperation is very important in this process. For this reason the research question in this thesis is: To what extent does inter-municipal cooperation contribute to the energy transition? Two case studies are conducted on two regions working on their RES. These regions are Middle-Holland and the Utrecht10. Although both regions share borders, their ways of how they cooperate on the municipal level are very different. The Middle-Holland region has a common goals and ambitions, whereas in the U10 each municipality sets their own goals with different end dates. After studying both regions and relating them to relevant scientific litarature, it can be concluded that inter-municipal cooperation on the regional level is needed for the energy transition in the Netherlands as a country. The transition is managed in separate smaller parts and in this way a national transition can be realized. Transition management can be used as the policy framework to serve as a basis for the development of an RES in multiple ways during many stages in the process.