Anger as Amsterdam allows 'ugly' solar panels on historic canal houses

Amsterdam's world-famous canalside houses will soon be allowed to have visible solar panels on their roofs, much to the dismay of local heritage groups, who say they will be an eyesore.

The Dutch capital's tall, thin historic houses dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries are poorly insulated and energy-hungry.

Solar panels are already allowed on roofs of protected buildings, so long as they cannot be seen from the street. But now the local council wants to relax the rules further in a bid to make the mansions more sustainable.

Starting in 2025, the Amsterdam council is allowing panels to be "visibly installed on all roofs of monuments and buildings located in protected areas".

But heritage activist Karel Loeff is up in arms at the change.

"Of course sustainability is very important," he said in the Grachtengordel canal district, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

"But these solar panels are really ugly and they should not be allowed on roofs visible from the canal," the 55-year-old said.

"It would clearly blight the view of what you can see now, a beautiful original 18th-century gable."

'Chaos'

With around one-third of its land below sea level, the Netherlands is particularly vulnerable to global warming, but is also one of Europe's biggest per capita emitters of CO2 emissions.

The country's goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels seems out of reach, according to official estimates.

The new coalition government, led by the far right, is expected to unveil its proposals early next year.

"We must contribute to sustainability in all areas," said Alexander Scholtes, Amsterdam's Green Party deputy mayor. This also applies to the city's 10,000 listed buildings, he said.

It won't be the Wild West, he insisted, with rules about the colour of the panels and how they are placed.

High energy bills means many homeowners want to make their homes more sustainable, Scholtes added.

"We can achieve responsible sustainability with fewer rules and faster procedures, and still take into account this cultural heritage," he argued.

But Loeff is not convinced, predicting "chaos".

He said he was not against solar panels on homes, but only outside the historic centre.

Another heritage group, the Friends of Amsterdam City Center, said "installing solar panels in plain sight seriously damages the protected urban landscape."