The commune of Saint-Gilles and its residents will eventually form a green energy sharing community. A few steps remain to be taken, but the first photovoltaic panels have already been installed.
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An energy community is based on the sharing of electricity between its members some of whom are producers of green electricity. Everything takes place locally, and the excess production from the photovoltaic panels is sold at a favourable rate to members of the community.
The Brussels commune of Saint-Gilles has decided to adopt this model, based on citizen participation. It's an opportunity for the community and its residents to work together to make the energy transition. It also responds to Europe's desire to introduce new forms of energy sharing ( Clean Energy Package ), whose directives were transposed into the Brussels regulatory framework this year.
9 municipal sites concerned
To develop this project, the Saint-Gilles authorities, following a public procurement procedure, awarded the works concession to Easy PV (an association between Energiris a citizen financing cooperative, and Soltis, the1stphotovoltaicinstallerin Brussels).
While Easy PV takes care of the financing (along the lines of the third-party investment), Soltis is responsible for the design, supply, installation and maintenance of photovoltaic systems for the production of green electricity on the municipality's public buildings, with added value for the municipality and the community.
In all, almost 600 panels, totalling 236kWp, will be installed on :
- 4 local schools
- 2 libraries
- 1 cultural center
- 1 training center
- 1 land registry
The Energy Community, in 2 phases
The commune's project is divided into two phases. In fact, the legal framework for the concept of an energy community has yet to be defined.
Phase 1: meeting the energy needs of Saint-Gilles buildings
Over the coming weeks, the photovoltaic panels will be gradually installed on all nine sites.
The green energy produced will then be used primarily to meet the needs of the buildings concerned, with any surplus electricity fed into the grid. And this for a period of 20 years.
Phase 2: pooling local renewable energy
Subsequently, the surplus electricity produced will be shared with the neighborhood and/or large municipal entities at a mutually attractive rate. This is known as "collective self-consumption".
Before this can be achieved, a number of details still need to be worked out, such as the legal status and framework of energy communities, and the equipment to be installed for members of the same community.
As for Sibelga (the Brussels network operator), it has yet to finalize the contractual and practical implementation of the various forms of energy communities.
In short, if the Saint-Gilles energy community is still some way off, it's time to get started. continued, the municipality is doing its utmost to be among the pioneers in this field. And Soltis is keen to help Saint-Gilles move towards a greener, more sustainable future.
Would you like to get involved in the energy transition and give your community or company the opportunity to make a difference? Contact us !
