Lightronics supplies luminaires for the world's largest solar carport!

Lightronics supplies over 3,000 PGA II fixtures for the lighting of the largest solar carport in the world. The solar park in Biddinghuizen has a surface of 35 hectares and provides enough electricity to supply 10.000 households with power for a year.

The solar carport is an initiative of festival organiser Mojo and Solarfields, a producer of sustainable energy. Festivalgoers at festivals such as Lowlands and Defqon.1 can park their cars under the 90,000 solar panels. There is room for some 15,000 cars. Thanks to the roofing, the cars are covered and the car park generates sustainable energy. The solar panels generate around 35,000,000 kWh of electricity annually, enough for 10,000 households.

Energy-efficient lighting

The car park under the solar panels is illuminated with 3050 PGA II fixtures from Lightronics. The choice for the lighting was made in cooperation between Lightronics and electrical consultancy MONTAD, which is specialised in advice on public lighting. "Together with Lightronics we made a lighting plan," says senior advisor Oscar van der Linden of MONTAD. "Based on light calculations we determined how to illuminate the solar carport as efficiently as possible, because in a project that revolves around sustainability, of course the lighting should also be as sustainable as possible."

Pleasant light pattern

PGA II is an energy-efficient LED luminaire that is ideal for car park lighting, among other things. "PGA II provides an even light distribution and is dust and watertight. In this case, the lighting must be functional above all, because the lighting is actually only used 25 days a year. The PGA II has a colour temperature of 4000K, resulting in a pleasant light display for visitors, and is equipped with energy-efficient LED technology. Lightronics also delivers true customization: especially for the lighting at the ends, five hundred luminaires are equipped with an asymmetric light distribution, which also gives an optimal light display on the adjacent paths and roadways.

Special installation brackets

Customisation was also necessary for mounting the luminaires. Van der Linden: "It is not permitted to drill into the zinc support structure for the solar panels. Special mounting brackets with rails were therefore designed for the installation of the fittings. The PGA II fittings are also equipped with a special connector, which allows them to be installed easily and quickly without having to open the fitting. Efficiency is key in all facets. By applying the ProTec cable protection system, cables with smaller cross-sections and longer lengths can be used, among other things. This means that fewer raw materials are required to manufacture the cables, which contributes to a cost-efficient solution."

Brisa on access roads

The access roads around the solar carport are illuminated with 83 BRISA fixtures from Lightronics. "The BRISA we have already successfully applied in other projects," says Van der Linden. "It is a high-quality luminaire with excellent light distribution that contributes to a safe traffic situation."

Customised solution

The installation of the luminaires has now been completed. Van der Linden: "The most important aspects for MONTAD are: quality, fast delivery and switching, thinking along on an efficient, high-quality design and cost efficiency. These are also the points that we value highly for our client. The strength of Lightronics is that they are able to devise a custom solution and that they can deliver quickly.

Photos: Solarfields