From a phosphogypsum landfill to an energy farm Terranova, Belgium

Renewable energy is the future. With that philosophy in mind, a consortium with Jan De Nul Group bought a landfill polluted with phosphogypsum and nearby sites of an abandoned sulphur and phosphate acid factory in the port of Ghent.

Together with our partners, we redeveloped the phosphogypsum landfill into an energy farm. This 15MW solar farm will produce, combined with wind energy on the site, the necessary power to produce 100% green hydrogen.

The consortium neutralised more than 700,000 m³ of acidic water from the phosphogypsum landfill. We purified and discharged it in a safe manner. We rearranged the phosphate gypsum in the landfill and installed a drainage network to be able to collect and treat the leachate water at all times. Afterwards, we covered the entire landfill in accordance with regulations and then built the largest contiguous solar energy farm in the Benelux at that time. A total of 55,000 solar panels today produce enough green energy for 4,000 families.

The solar farm 'Terranova Solar' has received the highest award at Intersolar Europe in Munich, the leading exhibition for the solar industry.