The intention was commendable: to rely on the immense spaces around the Amsterdam Schiphol airport, in the Netherlands, to display a colossal field of 228,000 solar panels.
Problem, located under the approximation routes of the two airport tracks, these panels cause, depending on the position of the sun, reflections that bother or even dazzle the pilots in their final approaches.
A situation considered dangerous that had pressed to the airport, the local authorities and the KLM national airline to present a complaint against Energy Solutions Group (ESG), the Belgian company that operates these panels, is related at night. In July, a court even sentenced the company to eliminate 78,000 park panels.
A park that costs 90 million euros
Then, after the consultation between the interested parties and the analysis of the situation, the decision was made to withdraw everything. But ESG does not intend to deprive yourself of this energy source. Therefore, the panels will be eliminated and then equipped with an anti -reflective coating before gradually reinstalled. The cost of this operation did not communicate but, according to the echoThe bill could reach 25 to 32 million euros, while the construction of the park had already cost 90 million euros.
“Security remains our absolute priority, at the airport as in the surrounding area. We have worked hard in this commitment, which guarantees the safety of air traffic while preserving the production of sustainable energy,” explains Patricia Vitalis, director of Operations of Schiphol who will take care of the cost, as well as the Batavia government.
For Dutch infrastructure minister, “the reflections threatened the airport operations, with a risk of chain delays and cancellations. Therefore, the State has committed to participate actively to solve the problem.”
Source: BFM TV
