Tholen – Despite lower energy prices compared to the peak of the energy crisis, energy taxes are rising sharply. This means investments in sustainable energy innovations offer excellent profitability. Rudy Daniëls, director of DSNRG, shares a calculation example to illustrate this for greenhouse horticulture entrepreneurs.
DSNRG, formerly Daniëls Smart Energy BV, changed its name in November 2023. The activities of Combest VOF, specialized in waste residue combustion, have been integrated into DSNRG.
With the waste residue combustion system for greenhouse horticulture, crop residues from paprika, tomatoes, or cucumbers can be burned. In the example, this results in savings of over €393,000 per year, due to reduced gas consumption (€288,000), lower waste disposal costs (€100,000), and income from ash sales (€3,000).
The calculation takes into account the sharp rise in energy taxes. For a lighted crop with gas consumption of 4 million cubic meters, the tax rises from about €300,000 in 2024 to over €800,000 in 2030. For unlit crops, the increase is also significant, from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of euros per year.
The total annual costs in the example are around €59,000. This results in a net yield of over €334,000 per year. With an investment of €1.4 million, this means a payback period of just over 4 years. With tax benefits and subsidies, this period can be even shorter. The installation itself has a lifespan of more than 15 years.
DSNRG sees waste residue combustion as a promising technology alongside solar panels, heat pumps, and energy storage for greenhouse horticulture. Although the technology is not yet widely used in the Netherlands, it is already successfully operating in sixteen international projects. Rudy Daniëls advises entrepreneurs to choose what best suits their company, rather than simply following their neighbors.