The Groningen company Novar is currently building the largest solar thermal park in the Netherlands in Dorkwerd. Solar thermal is an innovative way to generate renewable energy, where solar collectors convert sunlight into heat, which is used to heat water. It is a unique project with a scale befitting Novar as a market leader in green energy systems.
On the former dredging depot in Dorkwerd owned by K3/Lingedelta, as many as 24,000 solar collectors, capable of supplying 37.44 megawatts of energy, will be installed on twelve acres of land. "It will be the fourth largest solar thermal park in the world," said project director Emile Janssens of Novar. "We will supply the hot water to renewable utility WarmteStad and can provide about 40 percent of their current heat grid needs."
Novar is convinced solar thermal is the new renewable energy source of the future. "A solar collector, when the sun shines, captures sunlight. The collector works slightly differently than a solar panel. A liquid is pumped through the collectors, which is heated by sunlight. This heated liquid is largely transported further underground with pipes to the heat grid. The innovative vacuum technology of the Italian company TVP Solar in the collectors heats the water - which flows through the collectors - up to 90 degrees Celsius."
A common question Janssens gets is how the park works when the sun is not shining or when it is winter. "Even for cloudy winters, the vacuum technology offers a solution. Vacuum technology has a significantly higher yield than regular collectors. Furthermore, we are working with a 20-meter-high buffer tank that can store 6,000 cubic meters of water in heat reserves.
Novar - then still operating under the name Solarfields - started zever years ago with the first plans for the park. "Solar thermal is not yet very well known in the Netherlands. As a company, we want to research new technologies and find solutions in the field of renewable energy, and solar thermal fits in well with that. The solar thermal park in Dorkwerd is an important project in realizing a CO2-neutral and natural gas-free Groningen."
After a long lead time of consultations with several parties and going through all licensing procedures, Novar is currently in the finalization phase of the innovative energy project, in which K3/Lingedelta and solar panel supplier TVP Solar are participating. The park is scheduled to supply heat to WarmteStad by the end of 2023. With the output of the solar thermal park, 2500 to 2600 companies and households in Groningen can be provided with hot water.
The natural incorporation of the park into the landscape is of great importance, Novar believes. "A design plan was written by an ecologist for this purpose. After coordination with local residents and relevant authorities, the park will be built on piles, reducing the use of concrete and providing more space for flower and herb-rich grasslands. Of the 22-hectare dredging depot, 12 hectares are earmarked for solar thermal. On the remaining 10 hectares, nature will get all the space it needs. We want to complete this process carefully. As a result, the opening of the solar thermal park will probably be in early 2024.
This article was recently published in the "Look at the North" magazine, issue 428 - July 2023.
