Operational management and research reinforce each other at solar park Droevendaal

A great result, and not just for our renewable energy generation efforts. Researchers from soil biology research group (ESG) are also using this solar farm to conduct research into how solar farms affect the soil quality. In particular, the role of sunlight on plant growth, soil quality and soil organic matter uptake. This solar farm is therefore a good example of how research and operational management can reinforce each other.

Renewable energy and scientific research combined

Jan de Jonge, projectmanager at Facilities & Services, explains: "This project is special because it delivers on two levels. On the one hand, this sustainable energy generation saves us around €112,000 annually on energy procurement and we have already generated 25 MWh of energy sustainably in a short time. On the other hand, we are directly supporting ESG's research into soil quality under solar parks. One of the challenges was to construct the solar field without overly disturbing the soil and according to researcher Luuk Scholten, this was successful. Which is obviously great to hear!"

The cooperation between all the stakeholders - Facilities & Services, PSG, ESG and suppliers - was very important in creating this solar farm. Jan: “The land is managed by Unifarm, so we worked closely with colleagues at Unifarm to construct the solar farm. A transformer station was also installed and drilling was done under Kielekampsteeg to connect the solar farm's cables, aiming to minimise the amount of copper and aluminium put into the ground. The installation of this transformer station helps us make this part of the campus more sustainable. Externally, we coordinated with the environmental department, among others, and involved the meadow bird association. A project like this is not completed overnight. The entire process took two years.”

Joep Laan, manager at Unifarm, adds: “It’s nice to see how this project has really been achieved after two years. A few years ago, researchers at Unifarm came up with the idea of building a dummy solar farm. Two years later, through the collaboration between Facilities & Services, Unifarm and the researchers, there is now a solar farm with real panels. This is much better in terms of research than replicating something with chipboard, for example, because you can never exactly mimic the microclimate here. Hopefully researchers and students will be able to use it for a long time.”

Research into sunlight and soil health under solar farms

Luuk Scholten, researcher in soil biology, adds: “The increasing number of solar farms on former agricultural land like here creates new issues. Solar panels create shade and change precipitation distribution. That can lead to less plant growth and thus a decrease in the supply of organic matter to the soil. This can negatively affect soil quality over time. We are now studying how to maintain the health of the soil under solar farms. The results of this research will be used to develop guidelines for this purpose. Obviously, it’s very nice to be able to study this at our own solar farm. A great collaboration between various parties within WUR."