Mechelen: Site-Based Governance

Selected industrial sites, their businesses and city of Mechelen pilot the governance backbone: a framework of agreements that structures improved cooperation and participation, and organizes accountability of the shared production, storage and distribution of renewable energy. The pilots lead to adjustment and enhancement of the governance backbone which makes it ready for adoption by industrial sites throughout the North Sea Region.

For the selected industrial site Mechelen North and their businesses, the city of Mechelen as local authority piloted the governance backbone. Piloting learned that a Special Purpose Vehicle was not the ideal structure for cooperation and participation. Therefore, a management transfer was decided: Decision to expand the current affiliation with the intermunicipal association Fluvius Zenne-Dijle for distribution network management to include heating. The decision was approved by the municipal council.

The City of Mechelen concluded an initial agreement with DSO Fluvius regarding the construction of a district heating network in Mechelen North. This ultimately did not take the form of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) but was carried out through a management transfer heating. The City and Fluvius work closely together on the design and construction of the network. At a later stage, additional agreements will be concluded with other parties.