In Utrecht, the heat transition vision aims to phase out natural gas by 2050. The district of Oog in Al is one of seven pilot sites of the E2-CUTIES project, which is actively shaping the energy transition.
The LEC Oog in Al brings together the citizen cooperative Oog voor Warmte and the Municipality of Utrecht. Together, they aim to build a genuine partnership, sharing responsibilities and decisions while ensuring residents remain at the heart of the transition.
They are supported by two expert partners: Energie Samen, the national association of energy cooperatives, and the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht.
The Oog in Al district, a diverse urban area in transition
The Oog in al project coincides with the surrounding neighbourhoods of Halve Maan Zuid and Halve Maan Noord, and the three neighbourhoods have a total of around 3,000 households.
The buildings are mostly ageing, mixed-use housing (private and social). The district still relies on individual gas boilers, and collective heating is being explored, with solar panels and canal-based aqua‑thermal energy as potential renewable options.
Oog voor Warmte: a citizen-led path to a renewable heat community
The local cooperative Oog voor Warmten began in 2020 when a small group of residents joined Utrecht’s Expeditie Warmte programme to devise a renewable district‑heating plan for the neighbourhood. Over the following six years, the team expanded, bolstered by a “Collective: think big, act small; communicate transparently” workshop and support from Energie Samen, and now links residents’ everyday needs to the city’s long-term climate agenda. The Municipality of Utrecht actively backs the LEC by providing policy frameworks, data and city-wide heat‑planning alignment, even while dealing with limited capacity and legal hurdles. Together they are drafting a governance structure that clarifies roles, shares responsibilities and defines clear action lines.
In 2026, they aim to finalise the Community Energy Project Plan, strengthen the organisation and secure financial structuring—an urgent need because current funding mechanisms poorly serve citizen-led projects, though Oog in Al’s €1 million Ontwikkelfonds loan offers a hopeful precedent.
Technical work is underway: engineering firms have assessed feasibility, a majority vote in favour of a medium‑temperature system has been cast, a tender for a preliminary design issued, and spatial and cost assessments for home integration are underway. The LEC will develop a business case, risk analysis and initial resident offers, followed by letters of intent, while the municipality leads a permit scan to schedule the necessary approvals for network construction.
Inclusivity and trust are the cement of a successful cooperation
The pilot covers three neighbourhoods, Oog in Al, Halve Maan Noord, and Halve Maan Zuid, each with distinct socio-technical and socio-economic profiles. Oog voor Warmte and the municipality pursue an inclusive transition, inviting residents of all ages, cultures, and energy‑poverty households. Effective participation is ensured through clear communication, timely outreach, and trusted local ambassadors. Early meetings are well attended, and events such as Warm Neighbours Day spark creative engagement. The LEC and the city also launched a public outreach campaign featuring events, videos, and a podcast. Parallel initiatives, such as the Warme Winter Weken that included energy advice, heat scans, open houses, an insulation café, and collective procurement activities, deepened community involvement. A street‑ambassador network will expand, with membership goals of 50 % by mid‑2026. All these actions build trust within the neighbourhood. Residents access concrete information about costs, bill impacts, space or comfort loss, and system reliability. By being reassured, the community can accelerate the adoption of new heating systems.
The story of Oog in Al is more than a local experiment. It shows how municipalities and citizens can shape the energy transition together. Energy transition is much more than pipes and boilers; it is about community, fairness, transparency, and trust to shape a common future.