Digital transformation is an essential part of the transition to a climate-neutral society. This digital transformation itself must also be sustainable. After all, our digital system has a negative impact on people and the environment, through emissions, electricity consumption and depletion of raw materials. At the same time, digital transformation can help to use less energy, place less burden on the environment and contribute to sustainability in other sectors.
Rijkswaterstaat and sustainability
Rijkswaterstaat's ambition is to be climate neutral and work circularly by 2030. This means that we do not emit greenhouse gases, or that we offset our emissions. We generate all the electricity we use ourselves. We use as few primary raw materials as possible and reuse released materials safely and to a high quality.
See the Rijkswaterstaat website for more information.
Sustainability within MIVSP
The Maritime Information Service Point (MIVSP) project realizes, operates and manages the physical and digital infrastructure required to collect and distribute North Sea data. This takes place in and around the wind farms in the North Sea. Sensors are first tested at the Offshore Expertise Center (OEC) before installation. This means that there are less shipping movements necessary. This also saves costs. Due to strict safety requirements and limited accessibility, working at sea is approximately ten times more expensive than on land.
There is growing interest in placing sensors in the North Sea. MIVSP has a directing role in this and ensures harmonized data collection. Parties then do not have to install sensors themselves. Fewer sensors means less material use, CO2-emissions and costs.
To illustrate: a radar system emits approximately 2.6 tons of CO2 during its lifespan (about 20 years). This is approximately as much as an average household emits in gray electricity consumption in 1.5 years.
Longer benefit from sensors thanks to smart maintenance
The sensors that Rijkswaterstaat places in the North Sea must work for at least 30 years. That is quite a challenge in an environment where sensitive equipment is continuously exposed to salt, water and strong wind. It is therefore important to organize the management and maintenance of the sensors in a smart, efficient and sustainable way. The Offshore Condition Based Maintenance project is conducting research into this. Preventive maintenance is examined, among other things, in order to extend the lifespan of the equipment.