Overview

Transforming a former landfill site into a solar project and valorization of unusable land.

Landfill sites get a second life! The former Fontilloi landfill site is a 33-hectare area hidden away along the N4 between Belgrade and Suarlée. In 1970, the site was home to former sand quarries, and then served as a landfill site for the entire Namur region until the late 1990s. Today, the Fontilloi site is one of the largest landfills in Wallonia, housing 500,000 m3 of various types of inert and household waste - the equivalent of 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Part of the site is currently being refilled with inert waste.

Since 2003, the site has been under rehabilitation by SPAQuE, the regional body that manages degraded land. Tradecowall is in charge of the final backfill using site soil. Remediation efforts will continue for many years to come, which is why we have the opportunity to make this contaminated site profitable by installing 30,000 solar panels on 19 hectares of land. Through our subsidiary Meuse Agri Energie, we have applied for a permit to convert the site into a solar field.

Challenge

The project consists of 4 zones forming a fenced-in whole, visually isolated by vegetation. Each zone will benefit from the photovoltaic technology best suited to its constraints.

Fontilloi zones 1, 2A, 2B and 4 have already been authorized. An application to extend the project was submitted to the local council in August 2024 to include zone 5, an extraction area backfilled by Tradecowall and on which an agrivoltaic project will be set up.

Zones 1 & 2 are former landfill sites. They contain a pumping station for polluted water, a biogas collection network and a flare for soil remediation. Given the contamination, it is not possible to associate an agricultural project with this site. In collaboration with SPAQuE, the landfill will be covered with ground-mounted solar panels, taking into account the existing constraints: polluted soil, membrane covering the waste, safety distance perimeter, etc.

Zone 3 is a control zone on which SPAQuE has installed piezometers and where no solar panels will be installed.

Solution

With SunBuild, Meuse Agri Energi have chosen a professionnel partner to design, build and maintain this multi-technology PV Plant for the next 25 years.