Flanders’ largest solar panel project ever officially inaugurated by Housing Minister Diependaele (N-VA) in Roeselare: ASTER generates 150 MWp of energy on the rooftops of social housing units

Roeselare/Antwerp, 11 October 2022 - Today the large-scale activation of the solar potential of the Flemish social housing sector was officially launched in the social housing district ‘Het Verzonken Kasteel’ in Roeselare. After several test projects during the summer months, today joint company ASTER, which is founded by the social housing companies and is unprecedented in Europe, officially inaugurated the first of no less than 395,000 solar panels on social housing units. Minister of Housing Matthias Diependaele had the honour of ‘officially’ connecting the first installation: a major step in the fight against energy poverty as well as a substantial contribution to the Flemish climate objectives. During this inauguration, ASTER also announced its intention to install solar panels on non-residential buildings and plots of land that can no longer be used for social housing.

About ASTER

“Today's inauguration in the district of De Mandel in Roeselare is the culmination of the fantastic journey we have made in recent years with our partners, the Flemish Government, the social housing companies and, of course, Belfius Bank and EnergyVision. ASTER grew a simple idea into a €155 million investment that will make a difference on so many levels. With careful consideration we’ve come up with a business model that works autonomously, and that makes me incredibly proud,” says Etienne Audenaert, Chairman ASTER.

Following the establishment of ASTER in October 2020 and after awarding the contract to EnergyVision and signing the financing agreement with Belfius Bank in July this year, the inauguration of the solar panels is the next major milestone in the company's ambitions. Through ASTER, social housing companies can invest in solar panels that will be installed on as many social housing units as possible.

Whenever the sun is shining, residents of the social housing units that are equipped with ASTER solar panels, pay a tariff that is about 25% lower than the social tariff or the market tariff. This applies to protected consumers as well as unprotected consumers. The Flemish government sets the rates and ensures that the solar electricity which is simultaneously consumed will be the cheapest electricity for social tenants. Tenants only pay the social housing company, which owns the generated electricity, for the solar electricity they consume when the sun is shining. There are no additional costs for the tenants.

The electricity that is not consumed, will be sold by the social housing companies to Energie.be. The proceeds flow entirely back to the social housing companies and social tenants who do not have direct access to solar energy. The proceeds can also be used for other sustainability initiatives of the social housing companies.

"Flanders fully supports this project. The figures speak for themselves: with this solar panel project, we will equip some 52,500 houses of 64 different social housing companies with 395,000 solar panels over the next five years. One third of the total number of social housing units in Flanders will be equipped with solar panels. The social gain is therefore double: we are taking a serious step towards achieving the Flemish climate objectives, and the installation of photovoltaic panels will have a positive effect on the energy bills of social tenants," says Flemish Housing Minister Matthias Diependaele.

Solar panels on non-buildable plots of land for energy communities

But ASTER and EnergyVision's ambitions go even further. Sven Van Elst, Managing Director of ASTER, said: “ASTER provides maximum support to social housing companies in activating their solar potential and we also help them to tackle other challenges relating to energy and sustainability. Installing solar panels on existing social housing units are a first step. We also cover rooftops of non-residential buildings such as offices or garages, as well as new construction projects. We can include existing solar panel installations in the monitoring system that is set up by ASTER and EnergyVision.”

ASTER is also investigating the possibilities of installing solar parks on plots of land that are owned by the social housing sector and that, for several reasons, can no longer be used for the construction of social housing.

Etienne Audenaert: “The main mission of the social housing sector is, and will continue to be, the construction of new social housing units on land that is currently owned by social housing companies. There are still 180,000 families on the waiting list. As an industry, we are doing everything we possibly can to build affordable and sustainable housing for these families. However, we are finding that some of this land can no longer be used for social housing, totalling 1,600 hectares spread all over Flanders. With ASTER, we now want to explore whether we can use this land as part of the energy transition.”

Initial findings show that this would involve several hundred hectares of land. If solar parks were to be built on these undevelopable lands (an additional investment of several tens of millions of euros) the sector could soon double its projected annual production of solar power. The social housing companies would then be able to share this solar power with all social tenants in a civic energy community, as well as with local governments, businesses and families.

Figures

From now on, some 395,000 solar panels will be installed on 52,500 homes of 64 social housing companies over a period of five years, amounting to a total capacity of 150 MWp. EnergyVision, which won the tender, is enlisting as many as 300 employees to do this.

“The run-up was long but now things are moving really fast and social housing tenants will quickly notice: we have already boosted our capacity from 50 sites per week to more than 250 sites per week, and we can scale up even further from March onwards. The panels will be connected in parallel on top of the land, and capacity is also provided for that. Over the past three months, we have recruited and trained more than 60 people, and more than 50 people are scheduled to be recruited. In addition, more than 100 people are working on the ASTER project through subcontractors,” says Maarten Michielssens (CEO of EnergyVision).

There is no denying ASTER's impact on the climate ambitions of Flanders:

“With the activation of this solar potential, CO2 emissions are estimated to be reduced by around 35.000 tonnes. That is the equivalent of a forest containing 3.25 million trees with an area of 65 km2, the size of 10,000 football fields. This is how we as a sector contribute to achieving the 2050 Climate Goals for all Flemish people,” says Managing Director Van Elst.

Funding by Belfius

ASTER was established with the support of the European Investment Bank, which initially provided seed capital of €900,000. The organization prides itself on the fact that its business model can operate without structural funding. With regard to financing, Belfius Bank emerged as the best partner. The institution provides a credit line of €105 million.

Dirk Gyselinck, Member of Management Committee at Belfius Bank : “This partnership is unique because it not only gives a boost to the energy transition, it also makes a substantial difference for the people who will benefit most from it. We are therefore particularly proud that we’re not only helping Belgium to become more sustainable, but above all that we are helping society as a whole to improve.”

Inauguration by minister Diependaele in district ‘Het Verzonken Kasteel’ of De Mandel

The district ‘Het Verzonken Kasteel’ in Roeselare contains houses that are owned by social housing company De Mandel, and it was given the honour of inaugurating the project. The housing unit in Jonkerstraat, where the first panel was officially connected by Minister Diependaele, is a demo house where the company will be showing residents how they can commit to sustainable energy consumption.

“As a leading social housing company, De Mandel invests a great deal in energy efficiency measures from which social tenants can benefit. That is why we are joining the Aster project with great enthusiasm. The installation of solar panels on 233 homes in the district ‘Het Verzonken Kasteel’ is the kick-off of a campaign that aims to install solar panels on as many as 2,000 social housing units of De Mandel,” says Director Jurgen Vanlerberghe.

“De Mandel's initiatives are entirely in line with the policy of the city of Roeselare,” says Alderwoman Michèle Hostekint.“The city of Roeselare is not resting on its laurels when it comes to climate. For years, we have been working intensively with residents and partners on concrete goals to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This project, led by ASTER and De Mandel, will help us do just that. Back in 2020, De Mandel and the city launched the first energy district in this neighbourhood in order to reduce energy consumption. Besides collecting energy data, we also worked strongly to raise awareness. Now, we are working on the collective renovation of rental properties, but similar private properties can also take advantage of the group benefits.”