Nature and the Environment
Nuon realises sustainable energy installations at Natuurmonumenten, the Dutch nature conservation body, in order to protect and preserve a healthy and natural environment.
In 2000 the nature conservation association Natuurmonumenten and Nuon laid the basis for a ten-year relationship where we realise demonstration projects for sustainable energy at the estates and buildings of Natuurmonumenten. Nuon thus supports Natuurmonumenten in kind rather than in cash. Further projects were realised this year, where extra attention was devoted to innovative solutions. Every year, a fixed budget is made available for this purpose.
Nuon carried out a project at the camping site on the natural island Tiengemeten, where the manager’s home was provided with 12 solar panels for the annual generation of 1,440 kWh of electricity. That is one third of the total electricity consumption of the camping site. A heating pump system heats various rooms and supplies hot water.
At several Natuurmonumenten estates Nuon successfully installed waterwheels. A waterwheel is a kind of paddle wheel that scoops water out of a stream, lake or river onto the land. This allows Natuurmonumenten to prevent dehydration or create extra wet conditions. The waterwheel is powered by solar energy. The entirely renewed visitors’ centre Veluwezoom was equipped with 208 solar panels, generating some 25,000 kilowatt hours of electricity every year. The generated power is immediately used in the visitors’ centre and any surpluses go to the public grid. Two heating pumps serve to heat the floor heating system, thus saving gas and avoiding CO2 emissions.
