Dutch bank Rabobank sees geothermal as key element for greenhouse operations
Westland Greenhouse, Wateringen, The Netherlands (Source: Flickr/ Jeroen van Luin, Creative Commons)
Alexander Richter
28 Feb 2018
Dutch bank Rabobank sees geothermal energy as a key element in making the Dutch horticulture/ greenhouse sector future proof and sustainable, helping it to move away from fossil fuels to a renewable energy source.
With a generally positive market development, the horticulture sector in the Netherlands is doing good supported by bank Rabobank, as reported last week.
As part of the bank’s activities, geothermal energy is – again – an area of interest for the bank. With sustainability a crucial element of doing business today, the horticulture sector – and thereby also the financing banks – is looking for ways to cut back on fossil fuels.
Rabobank gives top priority to sustainable companies with transparent, future-proof business models. As far as Rabobank is concerned, this includes geothermal energy. The 2015 natural gas saving, thanks to the use of geothermal sources (Doublets) amounted to about 77 million m3 of natural gas. The dependency of (greenhouse) horticulture on fossil fuels can, so, be reduced. This is even more important when taken in the context of recent discussions about reducing the use of Groningen’s natural gas.
This is why Rabobank is involved, as a financier or source of knowledge, in almost every project pertaining to the use of geothermal energy in Dutch greenhouse horticulture. Besides the 14 doublets that are already operational, there are eight more in the preparation phase. Recently, Rabobank decided to make EUR20 million ($24.5 million) of risk capital, in the form of subordinated loans, available for projects aimed at reducing CO2 emissions and the dependence on fossil fuels. This was needed because although the government supports these goals, it is their increased regulations that are causing delays in various geothermal projects.
Source: Rabobank via Fresh Plaza
