They’re there, but you can’t see them – the 30,844 solar panels laid out in the former pear orchard of the Vernooij family. Covering 11 hectares, this solar park generates power for 4,000 households. WijksNieuws.nl visited to see how the fields have fared since they went live in April 2022.
COTHEN, source WijksNieuws, fotocredits: Kuun Jenniskens
The solar park is barely visible from the green strip along the village. You really have to search and peer through the tall hedge of trees, including ash, hawthorn, oak, and shrubs like dogwood, alder buckthorn, wild cherry, and guelder rose. These plants were chosen to support the little owl that inhabits this area. However, it’s impossible to see how the panels are arranged or whether flowering grassland has bloomed around them.
No flowering grassland yet
WijksNieuws.nl spoke with Sunvest, the park’s manager. According to Paul Verhage from Sunvest, the planting of flowering grassland has not yet succeeded. “Unfortunately, we had to postpone this as the soil was too nutrient-rich. A flowering grass mix would quickly be overtaken by the existing grass. That’s why we decided to first mow around the solar park and remove the grass where possible. This will deplete the soil’s nutrients, making it possible to sow flowering grassland in the future.” Sunvest also noted that sheep graze under the panels regularly.
Few complaints
WijksNieuws spoke with passersby to see if the initial opposition, which was significant, still lingered among Cothen residents. Few complaints were heard. A man who walks his dog three times a day said he isn’t bothered by it. He also hears few complaints from others. He mentioned that the field can start buzzing loudly on sunny days in summer. Residents had complained about this, and to his knowledge, Sunvest responded quickly.
Buzzing issue resolved
Sunvest acknowledges that the installation had some teething issues. “One of the transformers failed a few times, and we received feedback from neighbors that the inverters were audible from their gardens on quiet, sunny days. We obviously don’t want to cause any disturbance, so we implemented a technical solution by placing soundproof enclosures around the inverters. This has significantly reduced the noise.” Paul Verhage stated that this was done for about half of the inverters, specifically those closest to residential areas. Since then, Sunvest has received no further complaints.
No bridge
WijksNieuws heard from a resident that there was once a plan to create a small park with a bridge over a ditch, but neighbors preferred not to have it due to potential disturbances. Paul Verhage commented, “That was indeed part of an early plan, but the neighbors requested that the bridge be removed from the proposal. The plan was subsequently approved by the municipality without the bridge. Since the neighbors preferred it this way, we were happy to comply.”
2022: a record year for production
Sunvest reports on its website that the park produced 12 percent more electricity than forecasted in 2022. Throughout that year, the solar park generated 11 million kilowatt hours (11 GWh) of green power, equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of 4,400 households. According to Paul Verhage, the park is now performing as expected, and 2022 was an exceptional year.
