The Netherlands: Groningen tops first ranking of the Netherlands' healthiest cities

Groningen is top of a new list of the healthiest Dutch cities compiled by civil engineering group Arcadis. Groningen, the list compilers say, has benefited from largely banning cars from the city centre, encouraging cycling and walking, limiting the development of high rise flats and offices and combating noise and air pollution.

Read more at: Groningen tops first ranking of the Netherlands' healthiest cities - DutchNews.nl

The Netherlands: Groningen's Winsum is voted the Netherlands' prettiest village - DutchNews.nl

The village of Winsum
in the north of Groningen province has been named prettiest village in
the Netherlands by motoring organisation ANWB.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

The village of Winsum
in the north of Groningen province has been named prettiest village in
the Netherlands by motoring organisation ANWB.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

The village of Winsum
in the north of Groningen province has been named prettiest village in
the Netherlands by motoring organisation ANWB.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

Winsum was voted the Netherlands prettiest village of the year by the Dutch tourism organisation ANWB

Read more at: 
Groningen's Winsum is voted the Netherlands' prettiest village - DutchNews.nl

The Netherlands: Chint switches on the Netherlands’ self-styled largest solar project - by José Rojo Martín

The Netherlands has recently marked the operational launch of one of the largest solar farms seen to date, a plant delivered in the country’s northeast by Chinese partners.

Chint Solar has now powered up the 103MWp Midden-Groningen Solar Park, built within eight months this year to the east of the city of Groningen.

The 315,000-panel installation was equipped by PV module maker – and Chint’s sister firm – Astronergy and is now supplying the Dutch grid from its 117-hectare site near the village of Sappemeer.

Construction got underway in February 2019 and was completed by the October 2019 deadline thanks to favourable weather conditions this summer, Chint explained.

Read more at: Chint switches on the Netherlands’ self-styled largest solar project | PV Tech

Dutch earthquakes: Oil giants facing more legal action

Oil giants Shell and Exxon Mobil are facing a new legal battle with residents of a province in the Netherlands.

Earthquakes, said to be caused by drilling for gas, have wrecked hundreds of homes.

The people of Groningen are demanding the government take more action to limit gas production.

Read more: Dutch earthquakes: Oil giants facing more legal action | Netherlands 2017 News | Al Jazeera

The Netherlands: Google Goes Dutch With $770M Data Centre

has announced plans to build a new data centre in Europe, this time in Eemshaven, a seaport in the Netherlands.

The internet giant says it has put aside €600 million ($772 million) to build the new data centre, and will be its fourth location in Europe after Finland, Belgium and Ireland. Google currently has more than 10 data centres across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Indeed, its first two Asian data centres opened just last year, in Taiwan and Singapore.

Google says the new facility will create more than 1,000 jobs, with a view towards starting “initial opertions” in the first half of 2016 before becoming fully operational by the latter part of 2017.

Google actually already uses a rented data centre in Eemshaven, which it says will continue to operate after the launch of its new incarnation.

Read more: Google Goes Dutch With $770M Data Centre