A third of the 230,000 solar panels installed next to the A9 motorway and Schiphol airport must be removed because they are creating glare that blinds pilots, judges have ruled.
At certain times of the year, sunlight reflecting off the panels is so intense that pilots are temporarily unable to see, prompting runway closures at the airport.
The airport authority and airline KLM took the case to court in a bid to have some of the panels dismantled. Judges have now ordered that 78,000 panels must be removed, half before September 1 and the remainder by October 15.
The solar farm, known as the Groene Energie Corridor, was established last year. The first reports of glare problems were made in February, when the sun reached a particular angle in the sky.
The local council had been warned about potential safety risks but proceeded with licencing the farm regardless. The solar park runs alongside the A9 between Rottepolderplein and the village of Zwanenburg, covering roughly 100 hectares.
The installation produces up to 130 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, enough to power around 40,000 homes.
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