Verbrugge Solar roofs completed, 25 million kWh per year of solar power
Vlissingen, 7 July 2022 – On behalf of and in collaboration with Verbrugge Terminals, KiesZon has delivered one of the largest solar roof projects in the world. On Thursday 7 July, Verbrugge and KiesZon celebrated the completion of the project in Vlissingen with a symbolic opening. The completion of the project means that more than 25 million kilowatt-hours of solar power will be produced annually through the roofs of Verbrugge in the province of Zeeland. Converted, that is the same amount of electricity as the consumption of approximately 9,000 average Dutch households.
Left to right: Erik Versteeg (KiesZon), Martin Verbrugge and Machiel Joosse (Stedin) during the symbolic handover.
The solar roofs were realized by KiesZon after Verbrugge Terminals, a frontrunner in the field of transport, logistics, supply chain and storage and transhipment, took the initiative to use its many sheds to generate sustainable electricity. Martin Verbrugge, director of family business Verbrugge International, explains: “As a Zeeland company, we are very happy to realize this impressive project on our roofs. In this way we contribute to achieving the objective of the RES (Regional Energy Strategy) in Zeeland. We must continue to focus on clean energy sources.”
For KiesZon, part of the Greenchoice Group, the project was a first. Erik Snijders, general manager of KiesZon, explains: “We have applied something that has never been seen before, we have worked on a large scale with lightweight solar panels that we glued directly to the roofs. In total we are talking about about 3 megawatt peak. The flexible, lightweight panels have been carefully placed, tested and the way in which we mount them has been optimized. This extra element makes this already very special and beautiful project all the more special. We are proud that we were able to realize these unique solar roofs with and for Verbrugge.”
Connecting the solar panels required an enormous effort and multimillion-dollar investment from network company Enduris, now Stedin, an indispensable partner in the project. For example, the company laid new cables from the distribution station in Vlissingen-Oost, partly through deep drilling under the port of Vlissingen. “Making the impossible possible. That is what we have done together and of which we can be incredibly proud”, says Machiel Joosse, who as key account manager was involved in this enormous sun-on-roof project from the very beginning in 2018. “As grid operator Enduris (now Stedin), we have managed to avert threatening congestion by combining things in a creative and smart way in this unique project. This has led to this win-win-win situation for all parties involved.”
The total number of solar panels installed at two Verbrugge locations in Vlissingen-Oost amounts to 77,250. Combined, all those solar panels provide an annual solar power production of approximately 25,400,000 kWh. That translates to an annual CO2 reduction of 15,000 tons, which again underlines that every aspect of the project is huge.
