In the Netherlands, looking for space for solar energy

In the Netherlands, and in Europe in general, this is the major subject for the solar industry, promised to be massively deployed in view of the energy and climate objectives of the States: where to find the space to set up, and to accept ?

"We look everywhere", answers Maarten De Groot, of the GroenLeven group, a subsidiary of the German BayWa, which relies on these spaces where the installations can do "dual use".

Thus Piet Albers welcomes, as a greenhouse, roofs made of photovoltaic panels, placed three meters above the ground above his precious raspberries.

"I saw the summers getting longer, and these fruits of the forest burning in the greenhouses. They had to be protected," he says.

The farmer, who produces, in monoculture, more than 200 tons of raspberries a year, does not reap rent from the energy company, but has had other advantages for three years: more constant temperatures, 25% less watering, protection against hailstones, greenhouse plastic saved...

A wide smile splits his weathered face, as 37°C is announced this week in his region: "In the greenhouse, I should have thrown away 10 to 20% of the fruit".

BayWa, on the other hand, has additional costs to bear: non-standard and less productive panels (semi-transparent to filter the light), more complicated maintenance, lists Maarten De Groot, for whom "the rise of + dual-use + projects will depend on the support of the state".

An "agrivoltaic" project can induce a loss of 15-25% of income compared to solar parks on the ground. The latter, cheaper and more productive, will therefore remain necessary, believes the sector.

For each project, its local residents

However, not all emerging solutions are necessarily very expensive, stresses BayWa. 50 km from Mr. Albers, the company has installed a floating park on a quarry lake.

This 30 m deep cavity, formed by years of sand extraction and replenishment, now houses 17 hectares of solar panels as far as the eye can see, over half of its area.

"The floats are a proven technology, not at all high tech", assembled like pontoons, shows Hugo Parant, project manager at BayWa re France. The investment is greater than on the ground, but the rapid construction, the simple maintenance, and the water, by avoiding any overheating, increases the yield.

Also on the water, a dozen transformers send 20.000 volts to the shore station via a huge cable, destined for around 10.000 homes.

Here, the energy company pays rent to the quarry, but often sells carbon-free electricity at a stable price to the industrialist.

This Uivermeertjes park is with 29,8 megawatts (MW) according to BayWa, the 2nd largest floating park in Europe. The first is also in the Netherlands.

The idea does not only make people happy, like William Peters, who fishes carp and tench there. “The fish are getting bigger, but will this continue?”, he asks the representatives of the industrialist, who try to reassure him: a study on another body of water showed a small temperature difference.

"We are a small country. As soon as you have a project, you find a local resident, you really have to think about sharing the space", notes Maarten De Groot.

In Europe's most densely populated country, the deployment of renewable energy began with wind power in the less populated north. It is there today limited by the capacities of the electricity network, while the south is very urbanized, and the roofs already very equipped.

The challenge is there: the Netherlands, which is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050, derives less than 12% of its final energy consumption from renewables.

Globally, the situation is similar: 2021 has seen an unprecedented deployment of solar and wind capacity, but four times more would have to be installed each year to keep global warming at 1,5°C, underlines the International Energy Agency. .