Efteling to install 14,300 solar panels in new car park

Efteling is looking to hit two birds with one stone in the completion of a new covered parking area - creating more and better parking spaces for guests, while also generating its own renewable energy. The parking lot will be completely covered in solar panels, creating individual carports for many of the amusement park's visitors.

The plan was submitted to the Noord-Brabant provincial government, which the province then published for public feedback. "The Efteling intends to completely equip the KLM parking area with asphalt, on top of which will be solar panel constructions under which the cars will park," the announcement said. 

The new covered car park will have space for 1,346 cars, and a total of 14,300 solar panels. "In our case, it came as a solution to improve our parking spaces and to generate a huge part of our own energy at the same time," an Efteling spokesperson told NL Times. "The roofs in our amusement park are by no means all suitable for solar panels. Therefore, to accomplish our ambition to be climate neutral by 2030, we had to come up with more creative solutions."

The amusement park in Kaatsheuvel also submitted the permit application to the municipality. The park hopes to begin construction next year.

Apart from the solar carport project, work is already underway on parking area M to make it suitable for vehicle traffic while limiting impact to the groundwater system. The current work is intended to improve the flow of car traffic around the amusement park.