Sustainability of De Meent in Alkmaar
The further sustainability improvements to De Meent public ice rink in the city of Alkmaar have begun! This project is part of the European POCITYF project. 940 solar panels will be installed above the parking spaces on the south side of the ice rink. The solar park will also feature a charging plaza with 16 charging stations for cars and 20 for bicycles. Six other participating European cities are observing and learning from this sustainability project in Alkmaar.
Solar park
The 940 solar panels generate 300.000 kWh (kilowatt hours) per year. This is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 100 households. The sustainably generated energy supplies the car and bicycle charging stations and the complex with green power. Next year, a thermal energy storage system will be installed next to the solar farm to provide De Meent with sustainable heating and cooling. Residual heat from the ice machines will be used for this. In the summer, the same system will be used to cool the sports complex.
Alkmaar is an example in a sustainable European project
Project POCITYF was established by the European Union to make historic cities like Alkmaar more sustainable. The historic cities of Alkmaar and Évora (Portugal) are applying various sustainable solutions, which other participating historic cities in Europe are learning from and then implementing. The other participating cities are Bari (Italy), Celje (Slovenia), Granada (Spain), Hvidovre (Denmark), Ioannina (Greece), and Ujpest (Hungary). The project is one of the ways in which the municipality of Alkmaar is contributing to European climate goals.
Energy positive areas
Project POCITYF owes its name to "Energy Positive Areas." This refers to areas (or buildings) that produce more sustainable energy than they consume and then distribute their surplus energy to surrounding buildings. For example, De Meent's thermal energy storage system can also be used to heat or cool surrounding buildings in Olympiapark.
Subprojects in Alkmaar
Alkmaar is developing the sustainable technologies in Westrand; Bloemwijk, De Hoef, and Olympiapark. The solutions are divided into subprojects. The sustainable technologies can be used at a later stage for the sustainable development of other areas in Alkmaar. The municipality of Alkmaar is collaborating with several partners in the POCITYF project, including the housing associations Woonwaard and Van Alckmaer, HVC, Connexxion, Alliander, TNO, InHolland, Neroa, Firan, the University of Groningen, and New Energy Coalition.
POCITYF is a fantastic European project to be part of. It's fantastic to see innovative ways of making things more sustainable. For example, by using the parking lot's land twice over, installing solar panels and electric charging stations.
- Christian Blaak | Alderman for Sustainability in Alkmaar
