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The residents of the Vreedonk care center have been receiving clean energy from the sockets since August. 468 solar panels have been installed on the roof. The location is part of the Het Spectrum Foundation, a healthcare provider in Dordrecht. Director Jurjen Sponselee: “We want to take our responsibility and the business case is good.”
The Spectrum is changing. With two large nursing homes, various community centres, (home)care in the neighbourhood and a total of seven hundred apartments, the healthcare provider is an important player in Dordrecht, also when it comes to real estate. Due to rapidly changing healthcare needs – think of the ageing baby boomers, newly available technologies and the shift from care to nursing – the need for innovation and modernisation is strong. And whoever says real estate, says energy management. Rapidly changing real estate requirements plus fundamental upheavals in the Dutch energy sector call for an integrated approach.
Clean energy
The 468 solar panels provide the care center with an amount of clean energy comparable to the consumption of 38 households. The annual reduction in CO2 emissions this produces is equivalent to 500 return flights to Paris. “Vreedonk is now future-proof,” the director continues. “The building has been modernized; we generate our own electricity, while gas and any additional electricity needed for Het Spectrum are strategically sourced.”
The customer
Jurjen Sponselee
Het Spectrum is responsible for vulnerable elderly people. In recent years, a large gap has emerged in the Netherlands between home care and nursing homes. The government encourages living at home, which has led to the disappearance of the traditional nursing home. We address this as much as possible by offering care across the board, for example by opening meeting centers for people who live independently and are alone, but also by focusing our care centers on nursing. To continue to meet modern healthcare needs, we will be investing in the renovation of our locations in the coming period. Sustainability becomes an integral component of real estate policy. We want to take responsibility and the Vreedonk location proves that a good business case is possible
