The construction of the onshore wind farm De Rietvelden on and near De Rietvelden Industrial estate in ‘s Hertogenbosch has been completed. Together, the four wind turbines are expected to generate around 38.6 million kilowatt hours per year. A large proportion of the electricity will be supplied to beer brewery Heineken.
De Rietvelden Wind Farm is an initiative of Heineken Brouwerij ‘s Hertogenbosch, container terminal BCTN, contractor Barten, the Pennings family, renewable energy company Pure Energie and cooperative Bossche Windmolen West. The latter, with over 540 members, is owner of one of the four wind turbines. Pure Energie has been involved from the start in the role of developer and energy supplier.
The wind farm comprises four Nordex N117/3600 wind turbines with a hub height of 119 meters, a rotor diameter of 117 meters and a tip height of 177.5 meters. VolkerWind, combining the expertise of Van Hattum en Blankevoort, KWS Infra and Visser & Smit Hanab, was contracted for the Balance of Plant for three wind turbines. K_Dekker bouw & Infra designed and constructed the foundation for the cooperative wind turbine.
Heineken will purchase the electricity produced by three of the four wind turbines. It has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for this purpose. Heineken wants to achieve a CO2-neutral production by 2030. The company has also concluded PPA’s with other wind farms, including the Barrepolder Wind Farm and recently also with Fryslân Wind Farm which is expected to become fully operational soon.
Environmental fund
Part of the proceeds from the wind farm will be made available to the local community via a local area fund. For each megawatt hour generated, 0.50 euro cents will be paid into the fund. At the expected annual electricity yield, this amounts to 19,300 euros per year. The money from this fund is to be spent on local actions and projects that contribute to sustainability, greenery and quality of life. Source: Pure Energie
