About us

Welcome!
This is who we are. Amsterdam Energie is a local Amsterdam-based energy co-operative. We sell energy, through our national collective om | nieuwe energie, and we produce our own energy with our local solar projects. Our members own the solar panels; they receive a payment for their investment. Profits are plowed back into the co-operative, to develop more local energy projects.
The co-operative is overseen by the board of trustees. It is run by director and founder Rolf Steenwinkel and campaigner Daphne Meijer. See who’s who here. All people involved in Amsterdam Energie are members of the co-operative. We rent shared office space at Papaverweg 48 in Amsterdam Noord.

History

The co-operative was established in December 2011. The three founders wanted to take direct responsibility for their own energy.
The choice was made to become a co-operative, because in the co-operative, each member has an equal vote at the annual General Assembly Meeting. The General Assembly decides on policy. The profits are spent according to the members’ wishes. We use our profits to develop more sustainable energy projects in and around the city.

Reasons for Amsterdam Energie

Key aspects are: co-operatives are a means to and end: a more sustainable and just economic system. We want to be sustainable, democratic and transparent. This way, we can offer an alternative for the large energy molochs that care more about profits and the needs of their shareholders. We also want to be inclusive: everybody should be able to contribute to the energy transformation from fossil to sustainable. That we are based in Amsterdam, a city that consumes enormous amounts of energy, gives us an extra incentive. As Amsterdammers, we should be able to produce more of the energy we consume, and produce it locally. We cannot expect other people, in other parts of the country or the world, to provide for our needs while we sit around doing nothing.

om | nieuwe energie

Amsterdam Energie is itself part of a larger collective: om | nieuwe energie. om | nieuwe energie functions as a small national energy company. It represents sixty local energy co-operatives from all over the country, from Vlieland up north to Sittard down south. As a collective, om | nieuwe energie is growing, more co-operatives join each time. Its offices are located in Amsterdam Zuidoost.
The collective does the work of a any energy company. For a member of a local co-operative, this means that all billing of the electricity and/or gas you use is done by om | nieuwe energie. Negotiating with energy carriers, energy suppliers and government agencies – om | nieuwe energie takes care of all that. The collective also provides all customer services and runs its own marketing campaigns. You may find their ‘escape bus’, an escape room on wheels, at festivals.
Each year in November, the National Consumers Association Consumentenbond publishes their annual survey of energy companies. It checks out their claims about their sustainability and ranks them accordingly. om | nieuwe energie has been awarded a 10 out of 10 for six consecutive years.