Mol brothers’ flowers greenhouse

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Key Facts
Nibbixwoud, Netherlands
Market Segment Solar Heat for Industrial Processes Solar Collectors Area 15,000m2 Solar Thermal Capacity 10.5 MWth Storage capacity 1,400m³ Land Area 24,000m2 Commissioned April 2020 Type of collector/supplier Flat plate manufactured by G2 Energy Project Developer G2 Energy Annual Energy Delivery 8,100 MWh CO2 savings 2,500 tonnes per year

Brief

Flower farmers and brothers Jeroen and Marco Mol face high energy costs for their family business: It’s the company’s second biggest expenditure, as they have 4 hectares of greenhouses with year-round heating needs. During a visit to a gardening fair, they discovered solar heat and learnt about its various benefits in terms of cost savings and sustainability. This led them to collaborating with G2 Energy, which provided a solar installation for them that constitutes the largest industrial solar heat installation worldwide in 2020.

Technology

The solar thermal technology used in this installation are flat plate collectors manufactured by G2 Energy, operating with a drain-back system and water as a heat carrier. The drain-back function protects the plant against frost by leading the system to self-drain when temperatures fall below zero degrees. The excess heat produced during the summer months is stored 180 meters under the ground in a 1,400m³ tank. All the plant components (solar absorber, flat plate collectors, storage tank) were produced in Dutch factories.

Financial Structure

This project received financial support from the Netherlands’ SDE++ programme. SDE++ pays, over 15 years, a tariff per kWh produced, in an effort to bridge the gap between the market and production price for a certain type of renewable heat source. Maximum tariffs change with each new round of applications, which can be submitted once a year during a specified time frame.

The owners of the Nibbixwoud plant have started with a tariff of 78 EUR for a maximum, eligible yield of 7,350 MWh a year. The solar heat tariff is adjusted on an annual basis depending on the natural gas price.

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