A first in the Netherlands: Tesselaar Freesia’s new sunlight system that realizes greenhouse heating without fossil fuel. This will be the largest sunlight system in the Netherlands. Owner and initiator Pip Tesselaar is currently working on the development of this innovative, sustainable project on a practical scale: 9,300 m2 of solar thermal collectors, which together account for 5,000 MWh per year. This requires an investment of 3 million euros. The system will be up and running at the end of 2018.
The new sunlight system from Tesselaar Freesia makes use of solar thermal collectors, or solar heat. This is the conversion of sunlight into heat for the greenhouse heating water. During the summer months, the system stores the heat surplus in underground wells. When a shortage of heat occurs during the winter months, the stored heat is again pumped up from the underground. The temperature of the water is further increased by a heat pump to about forty degrees Celsius to heat the greenhouses.
The solar thermal field covers one hectare of land and will be built next to the current greenhouses of Tesselaar Freesia. After the realization, the system delivers 5,000 MWh per year. This amount is equal to the energy consumption of 300 Dutch households. Pip Tesselaar: "The sunlight system therefore not only contributes to the greenhouse heating without using fossil fuels, but also to the sustainable business set-up of Tesselaar Freesia."
The project has started, whereby the first 2,500 square meters is being made operational. After the construction, the installation and a test period, it will become clear whether the system is functioning properly. When this is the case, the second phase will start around August this year. This means that the remaining square meters will be built and made operational. The project must be completed by the end of this year.
Another part of the project is the purification and reuse of the residual flows of waste and drain water, with a new ozone water purification system. Drain water is the excess of irrigation water or nutrient water that is not absorbed by the crop. This water is purified and can be used again for irrigation water in the greenhouse. This way Tesselaar Freesia is saving on nutrients because these are not discharged. The water is purified from unwanted substances, such as pathogens. This brings savings on the use of artificial fertilizers and the grower does not impact the environment with waste water. Currently this system is operational.
In order to make the whole system profitable, the province of North Holland and the European agricultural Fund for Rural Development subsidize this sustainable project of Tesselaar Freesia.
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Tesselaar Freesia