‘Solar parks must be nicer and smarter, otherwise support will disappear’

News hour

Silvia Geurts

news editor

Daniel Heeringa

editor

Silvia Geurts

news editor

Daniel Heeringa

editor

New solar parks, which play a major role in the energy transition, are increasingly leading to bickering and resistance among local residents. “We see that support for solar parks is slowly crumbling,” says Sven Stremke, landscape architect and scientific director of the Solar Research Program at Wageningen University.

To prevent the climate goals from getting further out of sight as a result, Wageningen University and the Nature and Environmental Federations are coming up with a plan. In it, they argue, among other things, for national requirements for solar parks and more supervision and enforcement of new projects.

There is often a big difference between the plans and what is put down.

Sven Stremke, Wageningen University

It has been agreed in the coalition agreement that solar parks are only permitted if the land is used for more than just energy generation, for example also for agriculture. But according to landscape architect Stremke, little has come of this so far. “The number of multifunctional solar parks in the Netherlands can be counted on two hands.”

He calls it “disappointing” that opportunities to combine sustainable energy generation with landscape, nature and agriculture remain largely unused. And that does not benefit the support for solar parks.

Flower fields and hedges are missing

Along with the number of new solar parks, the number of lawsuits about the parks is also increasing. The number of disputes in court has doubled since 2019, according to an analysis of published rulings.

“The initiator is often accused of not being sufficiently involved in the realization of the project,” says Emile Euverman of AKD lawyers, who handle many of the cases. Litigation is also underway about the location and external characteristics of the solar park, such as the lack of greenery.

In the municipality of Helmond, a group of residents went to court at the end of March because of the appearance of the solar park in the Stiphout district. According to local residents, united in the Stiphout Articulation Zone Foundation, this does not correspond to the impressions shown in advance. It promised a flower field, a plant hedge and a minimal view of the solar park.

NieuwsuurThere is no flower field or large plant hedge

“There is nothing to see from the flower fields. And we are now years further and the hedge also offers little shelter,” says Willem Boetzkes on behalf of the foundation. Local residents hope to force the municipality to intervene through the administrative court. “We hope that the green setting of this park will also be realized, as promised in the plans. So high hedges, beautiful flower fields and a major improvement in biodiversity.”

According to E-Quest, the owner of the solar field, the lack of this is mainly due to bad luck. The sown flower field has been mown twice due to an error by the municipality. And according to the owner, the shrubs grow less quickly due to the polluted soil. The verdict will follow later this month.

It is not unique that a discussion arises about the promises in plans and what is ultimately delivered. “We often see a big difference between the plan drawing and what is ultimately put down,” says Stremke.

Panels between rails

Now that the landscape is becoming increasingly crowded with solar parks – and the easiest locations have been filled – it is time, according to the landscape architect, to set stricter requirements. “It can be much nicer and much smarter.” As far as he is concerned, the time of large-scale monotonous sunbathing areas is over.

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Wageningen University and nature organizations are also calling for a new subsidy scheme with more attention for nature. Stremke: “We have agreed that solar parks must become multifunctional, but we have no policy or subsidy schemes that meet this.”

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate has announced that it is working with the provinces and municipalities on ‘nature-inclusive requirements’ for solar parks. From 2024, the ministry wants to include this in the permit requirements.

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