During the national Open Energy Day on September 16th, Solar Heat Park Dorkwerd and Zernike Heat Plant will open their doors to the public. The largest solar heat park in the Netherlands is currently being constructed by K3, TVP Solar, and Novar for the Groningen heat company WarmteStad. It is expected that the park will be completed by the end of 2023. The solar heat collected will be used to heat homes and buildings in the northwest of Groningen through the Zernike Heat Plant. Both locations will provide a unique opportunity for visitors to see how Groningen is transitioning to a gas-free city during the Open Energy Day between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM.
Solar Heat Park Dorkwerd K3, a development company, Novar, a developer of green energy systems, and TVP Solar, a supplier, are developing the largest solar heat park (solar thermal) in the Netherlands for WarmteStad. It is also the third largest in the world. Using solar collectors, heat from the sun is captured and used to heat the district heating network. The solar heat generated is sufficient for 25 percent of all heat consumed by over 12,500 connected households and businesses in northwest Groningen. This technically innovative solar project is being built on the former dredging depot in Dorkwerd, near the city of Groningen.
Heat Plant
The Zernike Heat Plant, opened in 2022, brings together various sustainable heat sources from WarmteStad. In addition to the heat from the solar heat park, WarmteStad uses waste heat from data centers and generates sustainable heat within the Heat Plant itself. The Heat Plant centralizes and adjusts the temperature of the different heat sources to provide heating for the Paddepoel, Selwerd, Vinkhuizen, and Kostverloren districts. The Heat Plant is thus an essential component of the transition to gas-free living.
About Open Energy Day
The Open Energy Day is an initiative of the Dutch Association for Sustainable Energy (NVDE), in collaboration with six industry organizations: NWEA, Holland Solar, EnergieSamen, Heat Pumps Association, Ground Energy Industry Association, and Geothermal Energy Netherlands. This year marks the third edition of the Open Energy Day, scheduled for September 16, 2023, where interested individuals can visit wind turbines, solar parks, heat installations, or other sustainable energy projects throughout the Netherlands. This year, more than sixty locations will open their doors to the public. More information can be found at www.openenergiedag.nl or on warmtestad.nl/openenergiedag.
