New solar and wind farms in the Northern Netherlands are currently on hold due to a lack of connection capacity. We have to wait for expansion of the network, something that could take years. In the meantime, solar park builder Powerfield and grid operator Enexis thought about a solution together, so that Powerfield can still develop a new solar meadow at Valthermond.
The company that constructs solar parks would like to get started on the development of De Dreef solar park in Valthermond. The location will be more than eleven hectares (seven to eight football fields) and should generate 14 megawatts of electricity per year. A yield that is good for 3800 households. There is only one caveat: due to the lack of capacity, the park cannot be connected to the power grid.
Yet the solution is apparently simple: a cable is laid to a solar park that has already been constructed on the Pottendijk near Emmer-Compascuum (5 hectares, 4.8 megawatts per year, 1350 households). The electricity can still be supplied to the grid via this solar park.
According to Enexis director Han Slootweg, the peak and trough moments provide the key with regard to the weather. “A solar park mainly produces electricity when the weather is nice. If that is less, a park also supplies less electricity to the grid.” Then there is more space available on the net.
In that case, the power from Valthermond, stored in batteries, is added to the grid via the line laid to Emmer-Compascuum. “With this solution, you can therefore add three to four times as many solar panels to an already existing connection.”
Powerfield also wants to build a solar park near Meppel. There is still sufficient grid capacity for this location: the company is allowed to use the grid for 36 megawatts per year. Slootweg: “By installing a battery here too, Powerfield only needs 25 MegaWatt at peak times.” This power is still supplied during off-peak times. This also leaves room for other initiatives in Meppel.
According to Slootweg, these two Powerfield projects are an important step. They can be regarded as a first in the Netherlands. “If it’s up to us, we’re going to do this in many more places.”
For Enexis, this is not the first project in which a (temporary) answer is being sought to the lack of capacity. At the beginning of this year, the grid operator, together with Tennet, already put into operation a so-called emergency lane at the high-voltage substation near Weerdinge.
The hard shoulder can be regarded as a kind of reserve network to which a switch is made if the regular network flies out in the event of a malfunction or maintenance. But it is almost never used and is therefore now also used for energy transport.