LEIS

Solar meadow the Hope

Blokzijl
Cooperative Steenergie plans to realise a solar meadow northwest of Blokzijl and southwest of the village of Baarlo, in the province of Overijssel. The realisation of this solar meadow will fulfil the sustainability objective of the province of Overijssel and the municipality of Steenwijkerland. The permit issued became irrevocable in November 2025.

Local ownership is an important aspiration in the energy transition. For Steenwijkerland municipality, local ownership is important for achieving a fairer distribution of the benefits and burdens. The policy assumes a minimum of 50% local ownership. This can be met by ownership by residents, locally rooted businesses or a combination of these. Cooperative Steenergie belongs to its members. Residents of Steenwijkerland municipality can become members. Residents and locally rooted businesses (provided they are members of the cooperative) can become co-owners of the solar farm indirectly through the cooperative. This meets the requirement for at least 50% of local ownership. In Steenergie's development of the solar park, it is going further than that, as it is aiming for 100% local ownership. As the cooperative now has an irrevocable licence, they can proceed with the development of the solar farm. They are working towards commissioning the solar park in 2027. LEIS supports the cooperative in all facets of the development process.