These are the most sustainable municipalities in the Netherlands

Almere has the best energy efficiency ratings, Tynaarlo has the most solar panels, and Rozendaal has the highest share of electric cars. How sustainable a municipality is depends mainly on the financial situation of its residents and the type of housing in the area. This is according to research by Energievergelijk.nl covering all 342 Dutch municipalities. The study used data from the Dutch government’s Climate Monitor and Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Almere has the best ratings, Terschelling the worst

Based on energy ratings, Almere is the most energy-efficient municipality, with an average score of 7.86. More than seven out of ten rated homes there have a rating of A or better. Terschelling brings up the rear with a 5.76, followed by Westerwolde (5.77), Bloemendaal (5.84), Heemstede (5.86), and Simpelveld (5.87).

Notably, Bloemendaal and Heemstede are among the wealthiest municipalities in the country, but their pre-war villas are difficult to make more sustainable. “Money there tends to go toward the driveway rather than the roof,” says Koen Kuijper of Energievergelijk.nl. The year of construction of the housing stock accounts for nearly two-thirds of the differences between municipalities.

Where low incomes and high heating costs converge

The greatest gains are found in the worst-insulated homes. Insulating homes with an F or G energy efficiency rating yields the most gas savings per euro invested: over 800 m³ per year, which at the average gas price amounts to over €1,000. This is according to a recent TNO study on energy poverty.

“In municipalities such as Westerwolde, Stadskanaal, and Pekela, low incomes, an aging housing stock, and high heating costs all converge. Those with the least disposable income most often live in homes that are the most expensive to heat, while, according to TNO, insulation could save them over €1,000 per year. As long as that money isn’t available, it remains a vicious cycle: a high energy bill leaves no room to invest in lowering it,” says Koen Kuijper of Energievergelijk.nl.

Tynaarlo vs. Amsterdam: a factor of seven

Currently, 36.8% of all Dutch homes have solar panels, up from 32.1% in 2023. Nowhere is the disparity among municipalities greater than here: in Tynaarlo, 66.6% of homes have panels on their roofs, while in Amsterdam the figure is 9.6%.

The ten municipalities with the fewest panels are almost all large cities and densely populated municipalities in the Randstad. The ten with the most panels are almost all located outside the Randstad, primarily in Drenthe, Fryslân, Zeeland, and Gelderland. It is not income but the type of home that determines the ranking: the proportion of homes with their own roofs accounts for more than two-thirds of the differences.

Electric driving follows the wallet

Of all passenger cars in the Netherlands, 7.4% are fully electric, compared to 6.3% a year earlier. Rozendaal has the highest share of electric cars at 22.3%, followed by Blaricum (16.6%) and Bloemendaal (16.4%). At the bottom of the list are Vlieland (0.4%), Stadskanaal (2.9%), Westerwolde and Ameland (3.2%), and Pekela (3.4%).

Bringing up the rear, Vlieland is a special case: the island is virtually car-free, and only residents with a special permit are allowed to drive there. The percentage therefore refers to just a handful of cars and says little about sustainability.

However, these figures do reveal the strongest correlation in the entire study: average income accounts for about three-quarters of the differences in electric vehicle ownership across municipalities. When broken down into five income groups, the share of electric cars rises evenly from 5.1% to 10.2%, without any sharp changes.