Solar panel glare at Schiphol could cost €300 mil. in damages; Court case this week

If the owner of the solar panels that are blinding pilots approaching Schiphol’s Polderbaan refuses to remove them, the damages could amount to around 300 million euros, insiders told the Telegraaf. Schiphol will then have to close the runway again during certain times of day from the end of August.

A summary proceeding will appear in court on Wednesday to convince the owner of the solar panels, DGEC, to remove them. According to Schiphol, the solar park under the approach route to the Polderbaan and the Zwanenburgbaan runways poses too great a risk to flight safety. When the sun hits the panels from a certain angle, the glare from the solar panels blinds pilots approaching the airport.

“If the panels are not removed, Schiphol will be forced to close the relevant runways at a certain position of the sun. This will have an impact on airport operations, the airport’s capacity, and locals, because Schiphol will be forced to use runways that cause more nuisance if the Polderbaan and Zwanenburgbaan runways are closed,” a spokesperson for the airport told the Telegraaf.

Sources in the aviation sector told the newspaper that the damages from that scenario will amount to around 300 million euros. Schiphol will submit the claim to the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, the sources said.

A spokesperson for the municipality told the newspaper that they were still trying to reach an agreement “with all parties to prevent the Polderbaan from having to close again at the end of August.” In March, the municipality said that the involved solar panels would be removed, but so far, nothing has come from that. “We cannot yet enforce the removal of the solar panels,” the spokesperson said.

DGEC, the owner of the solar park, is not yet considering removing the panels because discussions are still ongoing about other possible solutions, a spokesperson for the company told the newspaper. “This requirement from Schiphol is not based on any applicable standard and is therefore unacceptable to DGEC. The solar panels will not be removed at this time.”