The 48,000 m2 solar thermal collector field will be connected to the district heating grid of Groningen, which is operated by the utility company Warmtestad. Three companies joined forces to develop this ambitious project: Novar (NL), as the project developer, K3 (NL), as the investor, and TVP Solar (CH), as the turnkey provider of the solar field. Together they founded a special purpose vehicle (SPV) – an entity that owns and operates the plant.
The solar thermal plant supports the ambition of the municipality of Groningen to be energy-neutral by 2035. Once completed, the solar heat will cover 25 % of the total heat demand for private and public buildings in the northwest of Groningen.
The EUR 23 million CAPEX was partly made available by a loan from the Triodos Bank. The project SPV, as the owner of the solar heat plant, will also receive a feed-in tariff from the national subsidy scheme called SDE++. It supports energy produced over 15 years using a wide range of renewable technologies including solar thermal. The feed-in tariff is calculated as the difference between the current gas price and a price cap of 85 EUR/MWh. This difference is updated annually and paid over a period of 15 years.
Furthermore, the project SPV has signed a long-term solar heat delivery contract over 30 years with the utility Warmtestad.