Six windmills, 115,000 solar panels and twelve containers full of batteries that together have one connection to the electricity grid instead of three separate ones. This consists of the new energy park Haringvliet in Middelharnis, which will be officially opened today. And that is quite special, according to the developer, energy company Vattenfall. It is the largest energy park in the Netherlands where wind, solar and batteries are combined, accounting for the energy consumption of almost 40,000 households.
“This allows us to make efficient use of our connection to the grid,” says Margit Deimel, solar director at Vattenfall. Because when the wind blows, it is usually not so sunny. And when it’s very sunny, the wind usually isn’t that strong. In general, solar panels provide the most power in the summer and during the day, and wind turbines in the winter and at night.
“That is why a wind and solar park can very well work together on one grid connection,” says Deimel. “And if there is a peak moment with a lot of sun and wind, we can store the energy in the batteries for a while and then deliver it to the grid a few hours later.”
Use space more efficiently
The solar panels are placed around the windmills, which means that the park on Goeree-Overflakkee takes up less space than if you placed the panels and windmills in a separate place. “The influence on the environment is more limited,” says Deimel. “The construction was also more efficient. The solar and wind cables are in the same trench, so the ground only had to be opened once. We think we should do it more often in the future.”
According to Vattenfall, the local authorities are satisfied with the relatively compact design and several Dutch municipalities are interested in doing something similar.
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