The Dutch city's eco-friendly infrastructure has new power hookups for electric cars, solar panels, and household wind turbines.
The Dutch city's eco-friendly infrastructure has new power hookups for electric cars, solar panels, and household wind turbines.

On the streets of Amsterdam last week, major changes were afoot. The first of 1,200 households installed an energy-saving system aimed at cutting electricity costs. Others were given fresh access to financing from Dutch banks ING (ING) and Rabobank to buy everything from energy-saving light bulbs to ultra-efficient roof insulation. And on Utrechtsestraat, a major shopping avenue in the center of the Dutch capital, solar-powered panels on local bus stops were installed to transform the road into a "Climate Street" piloting clean technology.

The projects are Amsterdam's first steps toward making its infrastructure more eco-friendly. Other projects are expected to follow soon. They include 300 power hookups around the city to recharge electric cars, solar panels that will be installed on Amsterdam's historic 17th century townhouses, and infrastructure upgrades that will allow households to sell energy they generate from small-scale wind turbines or solar panels back to the city's electricity grid for a profit. BusinessWeek