Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In the port of Antwerp, solar panels are now being added to 32,000 panels at the former Hooge Maey landfill. They will be placed along the edge of covered landfills. Indaver is partnering with 7 port companies to develop the project.
At the old Hooge Maey landfill in Antwerp, 32,000 solar panels are now being set up. They will be located on the sides of landfill covers. Indaver and 7 port companies are working together on the project.
In 2002, action was initiated to clean up the previous landfill site. The dump has been entirely blocked by a meter of soil for now. We didn’t know what to do with the hill, but things are about to change, as reported by VRT.
The installation of solar panels at Indaver’s site makes great sense.
“This was actually unused terrain. Then the idea came to create a huge solar park together with other partners.”
The partners involved include Bayer, Nippon Shokubai Europe, 3M and Ineos. Because they face the sun, the flanks are great places to welcome the sunlight.
Alliance will be installing 32,000 solar panels.
“That is enough to provide 8,000 families with electricity. That power will first be used to power our blast furnaces. We will put the remainder on the grid, so that everyone can use it,”
says Huts.
At the moment, 300 solar panels are being mounted each day. The aim is to see 32,000 panels operational by the close of the year at Indaver.
What is the history of the Hooge Maey landfill site in Antwerp, Belgium?
The Hooge Maey landfill, located by the Antwerp port, began operation in the 1960s as an area for non-hazardous waste. In the early days, a large amount of solid waste was kept there, as there were many years of systematic dumping. In 1998, an intermunicipal partnership named “Hooge Maey” was formed to oversee the remediation and sustainable management of the landfill. Among the partners were the city of Antwerp, nearby municipalities, waste associations, the provincial executive, and the company Indaver.
From 1998 to 2017, special efforts were made to address environmental sustainability at the landfill, such as treating landfill gas and leachate. Landfill gas was used to produce electricity at the site, thus closing energy and material loops, indicating a change towards more environmentally friendly waste handling.
