A first in Flanders: solar park supplies tunnels with green energy
In Zelzate, East Flanders province, a new solar park of about 5,000 m² has been officially commissioned at the Zelzate-West complex, between the roads R4 and E34. The installation will supply power directly to the Zelzate tunnel and the Debbaut tunnel. This is the first time in Flanders that solar panels are used to power road infrastructure.
The panels are estimated to produce 900 to 930 MWh per year, which is almost half of the energy requirements of both tunnels. Around 75 per cent of the yield goes directly to essential tunnel technologies such as ventilation, pumps and permanent lighting. This saves the Flemish roads and traffic agency AWV around 200,000 euros per year on its energy bill.
With this pilot project, AWV and the Flemish Energy Company, the agency working on more sustainable and efficient energy management, are investigating how road installations can become more self-sufficient in the future thanks to local, sustainable energy.
“By making our regional and highways more sustainable, we are making them more robust and efficient, which is a win-win situation: better for our energy independence, better for the environment and better for our wallets,” stated Annick De Ridder, Flemish minister of mobility and public works. "We have been installing LED lighting for a number of years now to reduce our energy consumption, but now we are going to generate green electricity ourselves to power our tunnels.”
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration © PHOTO ARTERRA
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