Energy landscape study Water Sports Course and heat grid feasibility study
The city of Ghent launched a spatial concept study for the area around the Watersportbaan, an urban neighborhood where in recent decades the spatial qualities have come under increasing pressure due to a piecemeal approach.
Client
Ghent City Council
Location
Ghent
Period of study
2023 - present
reference
23015.002
Energy landscape study Water Sports Course and heat grid feasibility study
The city of Ghent launched a spatial concept study for the area around the Watersportbaan, an urban neighborhood where in recent decades the spatial qualities have come under increasing pressure due to a piecemeal approach.
As a result, the large-scale sports and recreational facilities, the various educational institutions, the Jan Palfijn hospital, the OCMW campus and the social high-rise buildings form self-contained islands in a vast area. In addition, the social challenge in this area is great. The Neermeersen scores high on all poverty indicators, as well as for social isolation and loneliness. Large-scale renovations of the social housing patrimony result in a high number of relocations in which the new tenants are always in a more vulnerable situation. The concept study sought to develop a more coherent vision for the area around the Water Sports Course.
To give more attention to the energy component, the city appointed Ingenium to develop an "Energy Landscape Watersports Course. This work aimed to enrich the spatial concept study and support the development of a future-oriented sustainable energy infrastructure for this area. Through this assignment, the spatial design team was strengthened to conduct in-depth discussions about the energy system with the actors involved. These discussions started from an identified energy potential of the project area and its surroundings and explored the opportunities for an integrated design of a more common utility and area-based renewable energy system.
This study revealed significant potential for a sustainable heat grid on the site, using residual heat from Aquafin's large nearby sewage treatment plant (riothermal). The spatial and technical preconditions for developing a local heat grid are good, and the demand for sustainable heat demand from the surrounding area is high. Ingenium then set to work to further explore the potential for this heat network and the necessary infrastructure, technically, spatially and economically.
Meanwhile, the main partners who will play a role in the heat grid signed a charter to look further into the development of this heat grid: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/05/07/warmtenet-watersportbaan-gent-riothermie/
Energy landscape study Water Sports Course and heat grid feasibility study
The city of Ghent launched a spatial concept study for the area around the Watersportbaan, an urban neighborhood where in recent decades the spatial qualities have come under increasing pressure due to a piecemeal approach.
Client
Ghent City Council
Location
Ghent
Period of study
2023 - present
reference
23015.002
Energy landscape study Water Sports Course and heat grid feasibility study
The city of Ghent launched a spatial concept study for the area around the Watersportbaan, an urban neighborhood where in recent decades the spatial qualities have come under increasing pressure due to a piecemeal approach.
As a result, the large-scale sports and recreational facilities, the various educational institutions, the Jan Palfijn hospital, the OCMW campus and the social high-rise buildings form self-contained islands in a vast area. In addition, the social challenge in this area is great. The Neermeersen scores high on all poverty indicators, as well as for social isolation and loneliness. Large-scale renovations of the social housing patrimony result in a high number of relocations in which the new tenants are always in a more vulnerable situation. The concept study sought to develop a more coherent vision for the area around the Water Sports Course.
To give more attention to the energy component, the city appointed Ingenium to develop an "Energy Landscape Watersports Course. This work aimed to enrich the spatial concept study and support the development of a future-oriented sustainable energy infrastructure for this area. Through this assignment, the spatial design team was strengthened to conduct in-depth discussions about the energy system with the actors involved. These discussions started from an identified energy potential of the project area and its surroundings and explored the opportunities for an integrated design of a more common utility and area-based renewable energy system.
This study revealed significant potential for a sustainable heat grid on the site, using residual heat from Aquafin's large nearby sewage treatment plant (riothermal). The spatial and technical preconditions for developing a local heat grid are good, and the demand for sustainable heat demand from the surrounding area is high. Ingenium then set to work to further explore the potential for this heat network and the necessary infrastructure, technically, spatially and economically.
Meanwhile, the main partners who will play a role in the heat grid signed a charter to look further into the development of this heat grid: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/05/07/warmtenet-watersportbaan-gent-riothermie/
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