Closed-end real estate company Warehouses De Pauw (WDP) is joining forces with Dutch company SolarAccess to launch a major solar energy project in Belgium. WDP said it has signed an agreement with SolarAccess for the delivery and installation of solar panels on WDP buildings as well as with electricity supplier Nuon for the purchase of excess electricity.
Closed-end real estate company Warehouses De Pauw (WDP) is joining forces with Dutch company SolarAccess to launch a major solar energy project in Belgium. WDP said it has signed an agreement with SolarAccess for the delivery and installation of solar panels on WDP buildings as well as with electricity supplier Nuon for the purchase of excess electricity.
WDP will invest a total of EUR 45 mln over the next two years to equip the roofs of a number of sites with solar panels. These are expected to deliver about 10 MWp (Megawatt peak) per annum by the end of 2009, or the equivalent of the electricity used by 2,000 Belgian families every year. An initial four sites will be fitted with solar panels next year. Located in Grimbergen, Genk (Phase I), Sint-Katelijne-Waver (Univeg) and Willebroek, they will involve a total roof surface area of 70,000 m2. The first facility is expected to be operational by the end of the first quarter of 2008. Later next year the company will equip several other WDP buildings with solar panels.
The move represents the first step of the company's broader plan to 'go green'. WDP said it will study further investments which could help cut CO² emissions generated by the warehouses in its portfolio.