Heusden-Zolder (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A Dutch court ordered ESG, a green energy firm from Heusden-Zolder, to remove 78,000 solar panels near Schiphol Airport by Oct 2025 due to glare risking pilot safety.
As GVA News reported, a green energy company called Energy Solutions Group (ESG), based in Heusden-Zolder, a municipality in the province of Limburg, Belgium, has been told by a court in Haarlem, Netherlands, to take down or change part of its new solar park near Schiphol Airport. This happened after Schiphol Airport and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines went to court and asked for urgent action.
Many pilots have also pointed out that the reflection of sunlight on the solar panels was so bright that it was difficult to see when landing the plane. This solar park is called De Groene Energie Corridor. It occupies an area of 100 hectares and consists of 228,700 solar panels, making it the largest in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
ESG bought the land at the start of 2024 and began building in July. They had all the needed permits and followed the rules, including the FAA safety standards, which are known around the world as important rules for building near airports.
What happens when solar parks threaten air safety?
Even though ESG followed all the legal rules, the court said the solar park still causes real safety problems for planes. The judge said green energy is important, but it should not put safety in danger. ESG now has to remove some panels, move them, or use special material that stops the glare.
Energy Solutions Group (ESG) is a green power company from Heusden-Zolder. They wanted to build a large solar park near Schiphol Airport. At first, they planned to use special panels that reduce sunlight reflection. These panels help stop glare for pilots flying near the airport.
When work began in July 2024, those panels were not available anymore. ESG then asked if they could use normal panels instead. The town of Haarlemmermeer said yes and did not ask for a new permit.
A court in Haarlem said that over 78,000 panels must be removed by mid-October 2025. These panels are in 2 parts of the park where the glare is the worst. The court said they are a serious risk for planes. Because of this, Schiphol Airport had already closed its busiest runway between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. to keep flights safe.
“That aviation safety takes precedence is beyond dispute,
ES stated in a statement.
We are, however, disappointed with the ruling. We did not act unlawfully, but we must bear the costs of the measure. We will now thoroughly review the ruling and determine any further steps.”
A similar problem happened in 2014 at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in the United States. Pilots there said they were blinded by sunlight reflecting off solar panels on a nearby parking building. The panels were approved and followed the safety rules at the time. Still, the glare caused trouble for planes.
Airport staff worked with engineers to fix the problem by changing the angle of the panels and using a different coating. This case made airport officials in many countries more aware of solar glare. After that, places like the U.S. and parts of Europe started using better tools to study glare and made stronger rules for where solar panels can go near airports.
