Turning a former landfill into a solar park

More than 29,000 solar panels will be installed in Twence’s new solar park. They will produce electricity for around 4,000 households. Mark Kapteijn: “In this way, a former landfill becomes a sustainable source of energy that contributes to the energy transition and the reduction of CO2 emissions.” ENGIE is going to build the solar park and will also be responsible for maintenance and monitoring for the next 15 years. “We are happy with the experience that ENGIE has in building solar parks”, Marc says.

Twence and ENGIE have been working together for a long time, to make Twente more sustainable. “Twence is a natural partner for us in the energy transition. Giving more shape to the sustainable relationship between Twence and ENGIE by building a solar park is, therefore, a logical next step for us”, according to Freddy de Boer, general director at ENGIE.

The former ‘t Rikkerink landfill has already been provided with two sealing layers. The third and final layer will follow in 2020. These sealing layers ensure that rainwater cannot seep through the waste mountain, and it functions as a base for the solar park at the same time. The forested embankments of the landfill ensure that the solar park fits nicely into the landscape. Residents are closely involved in the construction of the solar park, just like they were involved with the sealing. Twence will start using the solar park in the summer of 2021.

Twence reuses useful and raw materials and produces energy (electricity and heat) from non-reusable waste, biomass and the sun. With the Boeldershoek-West and Tienbunderweg solar parks in Hengelo, Twence is already producing green energy for 5,500 households. Twence is thus making a major contribution to needing fewer fossil fuels and avoiding CO₂ emissions. Twence is at the forefront of the industry in terms of innovation and effectiveness. The organisation contributes to transforming our linear economy into a circular one, now and in the future.