'Collaboration that energizes you'

A solar park with thousands of solar panels, on a 40-hectare site in Middelharnis. That is the sustainable setting against which an equally sustainable cooperation is taking place in the area of safety. On behalf of BELECTRIC GmbH, Aboma and Wilgh QSE are taking care of the HSE plans and safety management on site. 

Text | Patricia van der Beek    Image | Aboma

German solar energy specialist BELECTRIC is building the solar farm on behalf of Vattenfall. The solar plant consists of some 116,000 solar panels and has an installed capacity of 38 MW. The solar farm is part of Energiepark Haringvliet Zuid, Vattenfall's very first fully hybrid power plant where a 22 MW wind farm and 12 MW battery storage are also being built. "A beautiful project," says BELECTRIC's project manager Alexander Mardo. "We like working in the Netherlands, where the solar market is growing. Moreover, Vattenfall is a prominent client."

Project-specific HSE plans

"Working in the Netherlands and for Vattenfall also means making high demands on safety, health and the environment," Mardo continues. "In order to start on site, we had to hand over a project-specific HSE plan. In Aboma we found the party who could provide this." Oeds van der Wal, consultant at Aboma, drew up the plan. He says: "It was initially an HSE plan for the surveying phase. Working alone in the open field was a major concern in this." The second HSE plan Aboma drew up concerned what is known as "ramming piles. BELECTRIC drove as many as 47,000 three-meter piles into the ground as the basis for the substructures and modules of the solar panels. Van der Wal: "The HSE plan for this phase focused on noise and working with hydromechanical equipment."

Joint posting counter

In January 2020, BELECTRIC received the final 'go' for the construction of the solar park. Aboma also wrote the HSE plan for this phase, which included areas of concern such as mechanics and physical stress. "During construction, a period of nine months, we needed an HSE coordinator on site," says Mardo. "Aboma organized this in cooperation with Wilgh QSE." Van der Wal explains, "Wilgh QSE is a secondment agency for safety experts that we have worked with for years. Since January 1, 2020, we have been permanent partners, which is reflected, among other things, in a joint secondment counter. From this counter, we fill the need for safety expert expertise on a project basis."

The solar farm is located on a 40-hectare site in Middelharnis.

On-site HSE management

For the project in Middelharnis, Wilgh QSE brought out Hans Baksteen. He started in March, on an almost empty and muddy site. "We set up the site in accordance with Aboma's advice," he says. "We divided the area into twelve sub-areas, equipped with access gates and escape routes. After that, the first piles soon went into the ground." When asked what his main duties consist of, Baksteen replies, "When employees first arrive at the site, they are given an introduction. I inform them about the project, the procedures and what is expected of them. There are also the daily and weekly safety walks with HSE inspectors from Vattenfall. Furthermore, we hold a toolbox meeting every week."

Unburdening

"The cooperation on this job is excellent," says Van der Wal. "We literally get energy from that!" Mardo is also positive: "I am satisfied with the way Aboma and Wilgh QSE are taking care of us on this project. They are professional, do what they say and stick to the schedule. Moreover, they continuously coordinate plans, advice and execution as one organization. This benefits the construction process. I look forward to the completion in December with confidence."