Future swimming complex in Belgium will be powered by 100% renewable sources

Sint-Niklaas aims to build one of the biggest swimming complexes in the Benelux

Yesterday, local authorities in Sint-Niklaas in Belgium, announced the construction of a new massive swimming complex and recreation area, that will be powered entirely by renewable energy. The complex is Sportkringpark and it will be one of the biggest of its kind in the Benelux.

It is aimed to address the swimming facilities shortage in the city and with the project set to complete in 2024, authorities will triple current capacity. The complex will be built through a public-private partnership, with the company ‘Sportkringpark’ having the right to operate the facility for the next 30 years.

At the same time, tickets will be partially financed by the city, meaning that they will remain quite cheap for citizens. The whole project will cost around 35 million euros for the central facility and 2 million for the surrounding area, where the project calls for the construction of a car park and bike lanes.

Building for the future

A swimming pool consumes a lot of energy. The water needs to have a constant temperature and the building also needs to be comfortably warm. In fact, according to the city, due to carbon taxes and rising energy costs, the existing Sinbad swimming pool is the most energy-intensive public building in Sint-Niklaas.

This is why devising a 100% renewable energy system for the large complex was a very important step in the project. Sportkringpark will have to power one Olympic-sized swimming pool, two smaller ones, a wave pool and a baby pool.

On top of that, there will be a water slide park and a Finnish-style sauna. By any stretch of the imagination, that is a lot of infrastructure. So, how do they plan to power the complex?

First of all, it will have a green roof providing some carbon offset, as well as a photovoltaic system. However, in terms of heating, the complex will use a riothermal system, extracting heat from sewage water from the biggest wastewater collector in the city – passing right next to the building.

On top of that, authorities have said they plan to use a low chlorine treatment and recycle as much water as possible, through rainwater collection and filtration systems.