Mähhhh! My name is Pijke and I make a significant contribution to increasing biodiversity. I prefer to eat palatable plants and plants like juniper I disdain. So the height of the vegetation varies a lot on the field. My tread creates gaps in the sward where new plants can settle. My dung brings new nutrients to the area for animals and plants and contributes to structural diversity through its uneven distribution and decomposition. Numerous seeds, plant parts and small animals adhere to my fur and claws, which I distribute well by walking around under the modules. Birds like to use my wool as nesting material. All in all, I provide new habitats and food sources for numerous animals and plants. Mähhh!
Welcome to Solarpark Zuidplas
This solar park is located in the Zuidplaspolder, province of South Holland, about 8 km west of the city Gouda and has a total capacity of 12.99 Megawatts. Since mid of January 2020, the solar park has been producing electricity - the energy generated supplies around 3,500 households with electricity via the existing power grid. Around 37,660 solar panels from the manufacturer Astronergy have been installed on an area of 20 hectares. The panels are oriented at an oblique angle of 14 degrees to the south.
The solar panels are placed at some height above the ground. This ensures that daylight can easily reach the floor and that the sheep can graze under the panels. The energy production and the condition of the installation are monitored remotely to ensure that the solar park performs as well as possible.
Within the park, several measures have been taken to improve biodiversity. For example, herbaceous strips and thickets have been created, and the coarse-meshed fence is permeable to small wildlife. Almost the entire area is used as pasture for sheep, so agricultural use has also been preserved. In order to provide the bees with pollen, a flowering strip has been planted, which is mown only once in autumn.
Thus, when building and operating a solar plant, we take great care to ensure that, on the one hand, naturally green electricity is produced, but also that the solar park blends into the landscape and that fauna and flora can develop well there.
Here we present you a brief overview of the performance of the solar park, the results from the technical management and the environmental monitoring.
© re:cap, Video: Pilot on Demand, NL-Meppel
At a glance - Tracking & Monitoring
(status: 31.12.2022)
12'994
MW Nominal Power
39'936
produced MWh
22'511
tons CO2 Savings
12,987
Households
Performance
During the current year 2022 the solar plant fed a total power quantity of 14,193,765.6 kWh into the grid. According to the measured values the specific power production was 1,092.5 kWh/kWp, which represents 110.3% of the cumulated scheduled value 990.5 kWh/kWp.
For the period between January and December 2022 the module-level installed sensors measured a global radiation of 1,318.6 kWh/m2. This value represents 112.8% of the expected scheduled value 1,169.0 kWh/m2. Thus a sunny and successful year 2022!
Technical Management
Within the scope of warranty the owner of the solar plant has requested the expert 3E to perform a Final-Acceptance-Certificate verification of the park on 11.04.2022 and a verification of the performance after two years operation, based on the monitoring data available on the respective monitoring platforms. Regarding the functional test, the calculated Performance Ratio (PR) corresponds to 84.9%, which lies above the corresponding guaranteed value. Consequently, 3E deems the PR test to be passed.
While the results of the PR test are in line with the contractual values, some observations made during the site visit are worrying. In particular, the severe rust on the surface of the foundation piles is considered a medium risk, as it compromises the lifetime of the project. The company which built the plant, has commissioned a soil expertise, in which reference is made to the very aggressive substances (neutral salts, chloride and sulphur) in the soil. Furthermore, the high content of
organic matter, the electrical conductivity, the high-water-content and as well the undecomposed organic matter inside have significant impact on the corrosiveness towards steel. Improvement measures will be implemented.
Otherwise, there were no many incidents in 2022. Only some minor repairs, such as the replacement of broken solar panels, inverter maintenance or a check of the security system.
Since commissioning in 2020 until 30.06.2022, the constructor of the solar plant has also carried out the technical operational management. As of 01.07.2023, this was transferred to a new partner. The owner of the solar plant has issued a tender for the technical management for his entire solar portfolio in the Netherlands at the end of 2021. The technical management was awarded to Pfalzsolar GmbH and Novar Nederland B.V..
During the year 2022 no HSE incidents were recorded.
Environmental Monitoring
© Julien Pflüger
Landschapsplanning and Econsultancy conducted the annual environmental monitoring at Bredeweg in Zevenhuizen. The monitoring project is conducted to visualize the effects of placing solar panels on soil, of flora and fauna over serveral years. The impact of these changes on biodiversity and soil quality of agricultural grassland is largely unknown. The results of the monitoring project contribute to the knowledge of the impact of solar panels on the local environment over time.
Please find below the link to download the current monitoring report.
Download Report 2022Older reports for download
More information
FP Lux REIO PV Netherlands Zuidplas B.V.
Van Boshuizenstraat 12
Unit 1.25
1083BA AMSTERDAM
NETHERLANDS
