The district of Nieuw-West is a solid demographical representation of Amsterdam and an area with high energy consumption. Notably, however, the area is home to the first district-level Smart Grid in the Netherlands. Amsterdam Smart City partner Liander has invested significantly in this technology in recent years. The Smart Grid in Nieuw-West serves as the ideal backbone to realise new renewable energy sources, with decentralised energy generation taking the lead role. The neighbourhood can be summarised as a modal Amsterdam district with a mixed building typology and above-average energy consumption. As such, the presence of the Smart Grid provides great potential for improvement. The neighbourhood is home to a mix of businesses (mainly offices) and residential properties. A total of 35,000 people live in an area of 5,610,190 square metres, of which approximately 2,783,890 square metres has been developed. Nieuw-West is representative of Amsterdam in regards to its occupational typology. It is a mix of large and smaller business units, private and social rental housing and owner-occupied properties. A consortium of companies will experiment with revolutionary means of energy delivery in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. This new system allows for the renewable, decentralised generation of energy while allowing Amsterdammers to greatly influence both their energy consumption and production.
