On an area of 9 hectares, located against the former landfill on the Vluchtoordweg, TPSolar will build a solar park. The solar park will be combined with an agricultural use, a form of multifunctional use of space. The solar park will have a capacity of 11.3 MW. This is equivalent to the annual consumption of 3,500 average Dutch households.
Facility
TPSolar’s goal is to have the solar farm blend into its surroundings as much as possible. This means that the current green appearance will be maintained as much as possible and that extra attention will be paid to further limiting undesirable views of the installation year-round. A landscape architect has prepared a green design for this purpose.
Habitat of the badger and the owl
Badgers and owls live around the plan area. In consultation with an ecologist, Dassenwerkgroep Brabant and Uilenbescherming Brabant, TPSolar has drawn up the current plan in which various measures have been taken precisely to make a positive contribution to the habitat of the badger and owl. Currently the plan site is used for arable farming (potatoes, corn, barley) which does not provide an ideal foraging area for the badger and owl. Special small game passageways will soon be installed in the fencing around the entire park in many places, allowing badgers and other small mammals to maintain access to the area.
With the proposed solar park, the entire plan area will be sown with a grass/herb mixture, and thanks to the use of extensive management with sheep grazing, the turf will remain in good condition even under the panels (with less light and moisture). In addition, a new 8,000 m2 grass/clover strip will be sown between the badger sett and the solar park. All that new grassland will provide ideal earthworm habitat (main food of badgers). Also, based on the advice of Dassenwerkgroep Uden and Uilenbescherming Brabant, berry-bearing native species (good for badgers and owl prey) have been taken into account as much as possible in the thicket planting. In addition, special nesting boxes, branch rills, lookout posts and mouse riders are placed and owl-friendly drinking troughs are used for the sheep. Overall, this increases the reproductive and foraging opportunities for the badger and owl in the immediate area.
Resident participation
There are two forms of resident participation: plan participation and financial participation. Plan participation was carried out before and during the licensing phase of the Osseweg Solar Park Initiative. It involves local residents in the plans, design, layout, management and maintenance of the solar park. Local residents are actively involved through the website and social media, information meetings and kitchen table discussions.
Financial participation is co-investing and/or experiencing the benefit of the proceeds of a solar farm. There are various possibilities for residents of Uden to participate financially and benefit from solar park Osseweg (once it is realized). The possibilities are explained on the Dutch page of solar park Osseweg.
What’s next?
The construction for this project is in process. However, it is delayed due to the temporary lack of connection facilities at the high voltage substation in Uden.
Contact
Do you have a question about solar park Osseweg? Please contact developer Rose Concolato at rose.concolato@tpsolar.nl or 023 741 01 44