Drilling is almost finished at Wijnen Square Crops. "For now anyway," says Pieter Wijnen. "The drilling rig is in a horizontal position and we are busy laying pipes so that our paprika can grow on geothermal heat. But we don't rule out more drilling in the near future."
Wijnen has been active in researching and developing geothermal energy since 2007. The company's drilling has received international attention. Still, Pieter is keeping both feet firmly on the ground. "Utilizing geothermal energy doesn't necessarily mean the costs of cultivation are low. This kind of energy will not solve the crisis. But at least we will be able to deliver a sustainable product: four colours of paprika and a 15,000 ton CO2 reduction. Every cloud has a sustainable silver lining."
Wijnen Square Crops' capacity has proved sufficient in recent times. Wijnen is even considering supplying energy to neighbouring companies. "The knowledge, the technology, it's all here. We can save an enormous amount of time and money using the things we have. Soon, we'll be able to provide people with all kinds of sustainable produce."
Pieter Wijnen on location
Wijnen is a strong advocate of CHP (combined heat and power), the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat. "Geothermal energy lends itself perfectly to a combination with CHP. The ideal mixture is 70-80% thermal energy and 20-30% CHP."