The quintessentially Dutch landscape of fields carpeted with colourful flowers and charming old windmills is steadily being enriched with solar PV. Having seen more than eight million solar panels installed nationwide in 2019, last year continued in a similarly impressive vein, with 2020 topping 2.9 GW of new PV installs to push the Netherlands to 10 GW of cumulative solar capacity (according to Dutch New Energy Research). With an annual growth rate of 41% last year, solar has rapidly become a permanent fixture of the Dutch landscape.
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And where solar grows, flowers can too: pairing PV with flower production is a fledgling industry, but one in which Q CELLS is proud to have recently partaken. Last year, the company supplied 1,635 solar panels for J. W. Smit flower bulbs – one of the largest flower bulb growers in the country.
Netherlands: Planting the seed of sunshine
Q Cells partnered with Dutch renewable energy company Sunergetic to bring a 539 kW solar system in Julianadorp aan Zee, the Netherlands, to full bloom.
Sunergetic installed Q Cells’ 330 Wp Q.PEAK DUO-G7 solar modules on top of two production barns of J.W. Smit flower bulbs in 2020. Each array boasts an east-west layout for maximum energy yield throughout the day, combining to generate approximately 437,000 kWh of clean solar electricity annually. This is the equivalent of saving 262,200 kg of CO2 per year.
Focus on solar self-consumption with Q.ANTUM technology
J. W. Smit flower bulbs self-consumes most of this clean electricity as part of the company’s pledge to operate completely carbon-neutrally – a goal that the company has almost entirely achieved. The remaining unused solar energy is fed to the Dutch grid under the SDE+ arrangement, in what is a financially attractive scheme for the customer.
In choosing Q Cells modules for the installation, J.W. Smit flower bulbs is guaranteed an exceptional kWh yield thanks to the Q.PEAK DUO-G7’s unrivalled quality and performance. This series of modules, powered by the patent-protected passivation technology of Q.ANTUM, delivers an efficiency rate of up to 20.2%, long-term yield security thanks to anti LID, anti PID, and anti LeTID technology, as well as Hot-Spot Protect and Tra.Q traceable quality to guard against module counterfeiting. With its 25-year linear performance warranty, the Q.PEAK DUO-G7 also guarantees sustained high performance for the long term.
Importance of quality when embracing solar
Jeroen van der Molen, founder and CEO of Sunergetic, said: “Since our start in 2013, our emphasis has been on quality and first-time-right installations. Our way of working always ensures our customer’s success. All of J.W. Smit flower bulbs’ electricity needs at its production site in Julianadorp are now met and generated in a 100% renewable manner. The quality of the chosen solar panels from Q Cells guarantees that the highest possible financial return is achieved for our customer for at least 25 years. Specifically, the degradation rate of Q Cells’ solar modules was notably lower than other suppliers offered. This is the reason why we exclusively work with Q Cells.”
Maarten Ribbens, Head of Sales Benelux for Q Cells, added: “It was a pleasure to work with Sunergetic and J.W. Smit flower bulbs on this excellent install because both companies fully grasp the importance of quality when embracing solar. Q Cells has long been proud of its reputation for high standards and long-term durability in solar module production, and we are excited to help another company in the Netherlands begin a solar journey that they will be able to enjoy for many, many years.” (hcn)
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