In Almere (Flevoland Province), a new Lidl Zero sustainable supermarket has opened. This predominantly wooden store is the first energy and carbon-neutral supermarket in the Netherlands.
Thanks to 1,566 solar panels, the supermarket, designed by the Bureau Ursem has a zero net energy consumption. Clients also benefit from this thanks to free car and electric bicycle charging stations.
The building exterior wooden wall is treated using a Japanese technique called shou-sugi-ban. This consists in burning one surface of the solid wood. In doing so, the wood lasts longer and requires less maintenance.
Lidl zero carbone © ElisaSmookPhoto
High energy efficiency
The store is not connected to any sewerage or natural gas network (which is a constant for the supermarket chainbranches). The areas of the store are heated and cooled using highly energy efficient heat pumps. The residual heat from cooling products is used to heat the store. During the construction of this ‘sustainable supermarket’, a certain amount of CO2 was released. It was compensated for by ‘Zeropark’, the park surrounding the building, which includes an educational trail and insect hotels.
Finally, more than 90% of the installations can be dismantled and recycled. Anecdote: even Lidl’s old staff uniforms were converted into insulation.
Tags: Almere, carbon neutral supermarket, CO2-neutrale supermarkt, Lidl, Nederland, Netherlands
