The municipality of Dordrecht wants to be energy neutral by 2050. To achieve this, the municipality is committed to energy conservation, sustainable energy generation and sustainable heat. They therefore want to realize several solar parks and windmills within the municipality. The former Transberg landfill is an ideal location for this. With the help of TPSolar, a solar park has therefore been realized here. The park, which with 22,000 solar panels produces as much as 7.5 megawatt peak, opened on April 24, 2019. Transberg now provides 2,100 Dordrecht households with green electricity.
From landfill to solar park
Until the 1980s, Transberg functioned as a landfill for Rotterdam’s household waste. The former landfill was remediated between 2004 and 2007. The household and industrial waste was covered with foil, a waterproof clay layer and half a meter of clean sand. Transberg became a meadow with monitoring wells to monitor the subsurface and groundwater. A sheet pile wall and drainage system prevent the spread of contamination.
Worthless soil?
The contaminated land seemed to have little value left, until it was thought to be an attractive site for a solar park. This way, the land gets a double function and is used optimally. In a country like the Netherlands, where land is scarce, ‘converting’ a landfill into a solar park is particularly attractive.
Sheep grazing
For more than seven months a year, more than 100 sheep roam our solar farm in Dordrecht. The owners of the sheep are the neighbors of our solar park. They are allowed to use the land under the panels every year and the sheep are in turn an enrichment for the solar park. The distance between the rows, the corners and heights of the solar panels provide enough space for sheep grazing. They function as natural lawnmowers. The panels are entirely “sheep friendly.” In warm weather, the sheep like to sit under the panels in the shade. When it rains, they use the panels as shelter. The panels and fencing are ideal for sheep to scratch against.
Nature development
Periodic grazing with sheep can create “shrublands” where flowers have the opportunity to form seeds and re-seed. This creates a greater diversity of species, making the solar park an attractive habitat for insects such as the wild bee. There are several bee hotels at Transberg Solar Park. In this way, in addition to the production of solar energy, the solar park can also accommodate nature development.
Participation
Accommodating the wishes of immediate neighbors and creating involvement in the project are highly valued by TPSolar. In this case, for example, the neighbor is involved in maintaining the park. Other local residents also benefit: those who want to purchase the green energy from Transberg Solar Park can do so through the Powerpeers platform.
There was also a way to benefit via the investment platform ZonnepanelenDelen.nl. Over 700 ZonneDelers have raised the target amount of 800,000 euros for Zonnepark Transberg!
Contact
Do you have a question about solar park Transberg? Please contact assetmanager Barry Lamers at barry.lamers@tpsolar.nl or 023 741 01 44