Opening Event Demo-Project DOE DC well attended

In the demo greenhouse, in addition to the lighting, the cooling, pumps and CHP will also be connected to a DC (direct current) grid. On DC, the CHP, for example, can run much more easily at partial load, which means that the need for electricity and heat can be better matched with demand. The connection of the DC grid to a park with solar panels is still in development. The greenhouse will function as a demo location and will be happy to open its doors to interested parties.

Jaap Vreeken stated that he aims to lower the costs of growlighting on DC with 30% and that this greatly improves the quality of the flowers. Furthermore, the savings in material through simpler cabling and the significantly improved lifetime of the printed circuit boards in the growlights provide both great sustainability and economic benefits.

Various parties gave a presentation. The start of the project was formally presented by the handing over of a beautiful bouquet of Bouvardias by entrepreneur Jaap Vreeken from the Vreeken Bouvardia demo greenhouse to Haarlemmermeer alderman John Nederstigt. The successive introductions followed a clear line.

Harry Stokman, founder and owner of Direct Current BV, had just returned from an IEC LVDC conference in India. He reported that all major players in the international electrotechnical world are focused on the development of DC. The Netherlands is thereby internationally recognized as a guide country for DCfication (note that word because we will encounter it frequently!).

Dennis Medema from LTO Glaskracht NL explained the efforts and successes of greenhouse horticulture on sustainability. He referred to the strong development of the energy efficiency index from 100 in 1990 to 44 in 2013 per product grown. The increasing electricity consumption due to less use of CHP and an increase in growth lighting offers opportunities for further optimisation of lighting techniques. The development of DC is an important part of this for the Greenhouse as Energy Source program.

Arno Bronswijk, R&D engineer at ABB, (a major developer of electrical infrastructure and equipment) explained the difference between direct and alternating voltages and showed various practical options along which DC use in companies and homes can be combined with existing AC facilities. After all: people want sustainability but no hassle. The technology can respond well to this.

Pavol Bauer, head of the department DC systems, Energy Conversion and Storage at the Technical University of Delft, clearly explained which opportunities there are around DC and which priorities are given to them in the research world. The connection to renewable (solar) energy without conversion losses is particularly interesting. Mr. Bauer outlined developments in energy storage, connections of companies and households and gave an impression of the developments in international infrastructure that will result from this.

André Rotteveel from the DOE DC project team explained on the basis of the different modules which parties are involved in the project and what the different task fields are. He referred to the website www.doedc.net that has just been launched and where more information about the project can be found.

Alderman John Nederstigt was happy to note that the position of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer as a matchmaker and platform where innovative parties can easily find each other, functions well. He emphasized that the project is all the more special, because the demo greenhouse is not a scientific approach but a real company in which the entrepreneur and collaborating parties actually invest in it. He sees the five Ds in this project: "DROMEN, DENKEN, DURVEN, DOEN en DOORZETTEN" which may be translated to "to DREAM, DIVINE, DARE, DO and be DETERMINED".