Generation of renewable energy in Gemert-Bakel

Current Policy Gemert-Bakel

July 2020, the City Council adopted a policy that allows solar fields to be realized. In short, within the municipality, the maximum generation per field is 6MWh. This is 6 ha of contiguous solar panels. In the sensitive landscape, a maximum size of 4 ha. applies.

*: the limit is at the maximum of 6MW which can be connected to Enexis substations. By spacing the panels further apart, a field of 10 ha could be conceivable, if fitting into the landscape.

The municipality of Gemert-Bakel has decided to compare all initiatives side by side and select the best 5 plans and have them developed as a pilot. In addition to a number of standard conditions, consideration is also given to, for example, the landscape where the solar field is conceived, the extent to which rooftop solar is also linked to it and the extent to which citizens can benefit from the plans. However, the procedure to apply for initiatives has not yet started, because at the moment there is a so-called transmission shortage on the network. In other words, Enexis cannot guarantee that the energy generated can be delivered back to the grid. So the grid will have to be adjusted first. With this established policy and the 5 pilot projects, the municipality wants to gain experience, knowing that the final task for generating renewable energy is much larger. There is currently no policy on wind energy.

RES task

RE (metropolitan region of Eindhoven) has the task of generating 2 TWh of sustainable energy by 2030. To achieve this target, the MRE has designated search areas. These search areas are included in the RES (regional energy strategy). The size of the search areas is such that the total target of the MRE can be met. Depending on the choice, larger solar fields are possible within the search areas, however, with the current municipal policy this is not possible. Search areas have been established on the basis of minimum distances from village centers, landscape values and links to other themes. The MRE had the environmental effects of the search areas mapped. These environmental effects have been extensively researched and can be read in the plan EIA report. The results of this report weigh into the final choice of where solar fields will be realized. Besides the environmental effects, local support/acceptance is also an important factor to take into account in the final choice. With the search areas to be determined in view, Enexis can also set up their investment program to expand the network. In short, nothing is fixed about the search areas at this time. The council can express a preference on June 10. After processing all responses from the 21 MRE municipalities, the RES 1.0 including the search areas is expected to be adopted in November 2021.

Wind Energy

Frans-Gerrits has a high energy consumption. They are orienting themselves whether it is possible to generate the energy consumed by them nearby by means of wind energy (1 windmill seems sufficient for this). In search area 7, near the Grensweg, realization of wind energy is conceivable. This search area lies more than 1 kilometer from the De Rips city limits. In accordance with provincial policy, there must be at least 3 windmills next to each other.