Solar parks sewage treatment plants

Noorderzijlvest aims to be an energy-neutral water authority by 2025. We are going to construct solar parks on the grounds of wastewater treatment plants. By generating our own sustainable energy, we will need to purchase less fossil fuel energy and we will reduce our CO2 emissions.

Solar panels at 7 locations

  • At the wastewater treatment plants, we are dealing with continuous and high power consumption. A number of these plants have space to install solar panels on their own land, enabling them to generate a significant proportion of the energy required on site in a sustainable manner. We have now installed solar panels on the grounds of the wastewater treatment plants in Eelde, Feerwerd, Onderdendam, Wehe den Hoorn, Leek, Winsum, and Delfzijl.
  • A new wastewater treatment plant will eventually be built in the Westerkwartier at the Gaarkeuken site. This will replace the current plants in Marum, Zuidhorn, and Gaarkeuken. Once this new treatment plant has been completed, solar panels will also be installed here.

There are now a total of approximately 4,000 solar panels at the seven locations mentioned, with a capacity of 1.7 MWp. They can generate approximately 1,500,000 kWh per year.

If, in time, the new Gaarkeuken wastewater treatment plant also has solar panels, these will supply approximately 12% of the energy used by the water board.

Previous reports

Herman Beerda, executive board member, and Tjitse Mollema, sustainability advisor at the Noorderzijlvest water board, symbolically commission the solar parks at the wastewater treatment plant in Eelde.
Herman Beerda, executive board member, and Tjitse Mollema, sustainability advisor at the Noorderzijlvest water board, symbolically commission the solar parks at the wastewater treatment plant in Eelde.