The heat and power plant, together with the new fire station, form the visiting card for the ScheldeVestingneighbourhood,an ambitiousarea development between the town centreand thewaterfront in Bergen op Zoom. The design of theheat and power plant is a reference to a “standard” power station. The building is constructed in Cortensteel giving it a rust-like appearanceand it currently supplies 319 households and 18 commercial enterprises, including the Centrum voor de Kunsten Bergen op Zoom art centre, De Blokstallenhousing development, schools and nursing homeswith sustainably-generated heat. The heat and power plant has been designed for the planned1,500 homes in the area.

The municipality’s ambitions regarding sustainability, the ScheldeVesting development plan, and Essent Energy are thus brought together. Seventy per cent of the heat produced in the power plant is sustainably generated.This sustainable heat is produced by cogeneration, combined heat and power (CHP), andwill be used to supply central heating for the plannedhousing in ScheldeVesting andlocal commercial connections. Part of the electricity generated will be used by the heat and power plant itself and the remainder returned to the electricity grid. Because of the combined supplyof electricity and heat, the yield is much higher than with a traditional power station.