Just outside Emmen, between the villages of Emmer-Compascuum and Nieuw-Weerdinge, hard work is underway on the construction of a large energy park with wind turbines and solar panels. The work on Pottendijk will last until the end of the year, but the first results are already visible.
“We have completely built the first wind turbine and are now working on the second,” says project leader Ernst de Wiljes of Shell. The other thirteen turbines have to be built in the next four months and it doesn’t stop there. A solar park is also being constructed. “The foundation is already there, that is more than ten thousand posts. In the end ninety thousand panels will be installed on a field of 35 hectares of land.” According to De Wiljes, that is roughly equivalent to 52 football fields.
“You have to imagine that there was nothing here a month and a half ago. At that time, only roads and cables had been laid,” the project leader continues. And that the first windmill is up is good news, because the project contributes to the energy transition in the Emmen region. “This makes a significant contribution to those objectives. What is generated here is equivalent to approximately one third of the annual electricity consumption in Emmen”, emphasizes De Wiljes.
Despite the fact that the energy park appears to be making a good contribution to the Emmen region, the municipality has mixed feelings. “In the end, the province decided that windmills should be installed within the municipality. That has been a heated discussion,” says alderman René van der Weide of the municipality of Emmen. “We as a municipality have said that we want to take control.”
Despite the mixed feelings, the alderman emphasizes that it is important to increase sustainability. “We all agree on that and that is also the task we face in the Netherlands, only we as a municipality would have liked freedom of choice about the technology.”
The surrounding Mondendorpen have also not always agreed with the arrival of the energy park. According to the municipality, five objections have been submitted and settled, but that has not led to the plan being amended. Van der Weide: “The criticism varies from whether or not there are windmills to the location, the arrangement, the sound and the cast shadow.”
Mainly because of the noise and the cast shadow, the municipality has opted for the greatest possible distance from the residential area. “That resulted in a distance of 1,100 meters.” Despite all the objections, construction has nevertheless started. “Extensive research has been done into the environmental effects and we have included all of that in the permit,” says Van der Weide.
De Wiljes expects the project, financed by Shell, to be completed in six months. From then on, the windmills and solar panels can last for years. “We assume a lifespan of 16 years for the wind farm, which is also the case. The solar panels can last for thirty years,” concludes De Wiljes.