Geothermal Heat to Warm Greenhouses Near The Hague
Westland Greenhouse, Wateringen, The Netherlands (Source: Flickr/ Jeroen van Luin, Creative Commons)
Parker O'Halloran
13 May 2017
Newspaper Financieele Dagblad of The Netherlands reports on May 11 that drilling of a 4 kilometer deep borehole has begun.
A four kilometer deep shaft is being bored in the Westland greenhouse-growing region near The Hague the Financieele Dagblad reported on Thursday. This pilot project is called Trias Westland and is anticipated to be online in September, but it is expected to be December before the first geothermal heat will be pumped to warm the vast flower and vegetable greenhouses in the area. The heat will come from water that is expected to be 140 degrees at the source.
This €50m ($55m USD) project is double the size of existing geothermal heating plants in the Netherlands. Trias Westland director Marco van Soerland said geothermal projects are much more expensive than solar panels as a heat source. Van Soerland added that it remains to be seen whether the project will be successful. The Westland auction as well as 43 area growers have committed to buying the geothermal heat, which if successful, will provide between 10% and 20% of annual heating needs. Van Soerland said that adding green energy to the mix is increasingly important. He added, “Growers, whether they be in flowers or vegetables, have clients who demand sustainable products.” The average projected lifetime of a geothermal shaft is 15 years.
Source: Dutchnews.nl, “Geothermal heat for Westland greenhouse region near The Hague”
