Wrenhaven twin town Velde now runs entirely on community-owned solar power
Velde, the small inland town twinned with Wrenhaven, now produces as much electricity as it uses over a year from a solar park owned by its own residents through an energy cooperative.
Velde, the inland town of about 9,000 people that has been twinned with Wrenhaven for more than three decades, now generates all of the electricity it uses over a year from a solar park owned by local residents. The milestone was confirmed after the cooperative completed the third and final phase of the site on former farmland at the edge of town.
The park covers 38 hectares and holds about 52,000 panels, with sheep grazing between the rows. On sunny days it produces far more power than Velde needs, and the surplus is sold to the national grid. In winter and at night the town still draws power from the grid, but across a full year the balance tips in its favour.
Owned by the people who live there
The Velde Energy Cooperative was set up by a group of neighbours who wanted to keep the money from renewable power in the town. Residents could buy shares from €250, and more than 2,400 households now hold a stake. Profits pay a modest annual dividend and fund insulation grants for older homes.
We did not want someone from far away to put panels on our fields and send the profits somewhere else.
So said Annemieke Doorn, a retired schoolteacher and one of the cooperative's founding members. The town's mayor, Pieter Vandewalle, said the next step was a battery store large enough to keep street lights and the health centre running on solar power after dark. Planning for that is under way, with a decision expected next year.
Solar park size: 38 hectares, about 52,000 panels
Shareholding households: more than 2,400
Minimum share: €250
The project was not without opposition. Some residents objected to the loss of farmland and the view from the old town walls, and the first planning application was rejected. The cooperative reduced the size of the park, planted hedges around its edge and agreed that the land would return to farming when the panels reach the end of their working life, which is expected to be in about 30 years.
A delegation from Wrenhaven's community energy groups is due to visit Velde in the spring to see how the cooperative was set up. Several groups in Millbrook and the Asher Valley have already asked whether the same model could work on school roofs and farm buildings.
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