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Energy Report
Our solar parks generated quite a few kilowatt hours of energy last year. Although the sun did not show its best side, we still made a positive contribution to renewable energy generation. Below is a report of energy yields in 2023.
Plenty of rain and hardly any sunshine…
Sadly, 2023 will not go down in history as a sunny year in Belgium. Quite the contrary – the huge levels of rainfall in November, along with the subsequent serious flooding, have left their mark.
This is backed up by statistics from the Belgian Royal Meteorological Institute. Belgium had overall solar irradiance of 1,015 kWh/m², which is approximately 3% less than the yearly average (1,037 kWh/m²). When we compare it to 2022 (1,121 kWh/m²), this represents a fall of more than 10%.
This was felt in terms of production from our solar parks.
hours of sun in 2023
...means EnergyVision turns things up a notch!
Sadly, 2023 will not go down in history as a sunny year in Belgium. Quite the contrary – the huge levels of rainfall in November, along with the subsequent serious flooding, have left their mark.
This is backed up by statistics from the Belgian Royal Meteorological Institute. Belgium had overall solar irradiance of 1,015 kWh/m², which is approximately 3% less than the yearly average (1,037 kWh/m²). When we compare it to 2022 (1,121 kWh/m²), this represents a fall of more than 10%.
This was felt in terms of production from our solar parks.
Our statistics
Number of solar parks
In Belgium, China and Morocco, the installations keep on coming. It was mainly in Belgium that we saw a huge risein the number of projects, as the ASTER project (solar panels on roofs of social housing) reached cruising speed in 2023.This figure is set to increase over the coming years.
An average solar park in our portfolio has 77 solar panels. But there are huge differences between the various countriesand solar parks. Our smallest project (B2C, in Belgium, part of the Brusol concept) only has four panels. Our biggest project,in China, has more than 19,000 solar panels.
Number of projects
Capacity of our solar parks
The total capacity of our solar parks is spread across three different countries. When taken together, the capacity is considerable, all of which we have built and monitored ourselves, whether for our own use of that of others. That capacity keeps growing year on year, and at an ever-increasing pace.
Cumulative capacity of our projects (expressed in MWp):
Availability of our solar parks
Building solar panel installations is one thing, but operating them to function and produce at optimum levels is quite another. Our dedicated Assets and Service team is available 24/7 to monitor this. The availability factor in our projects throughout the year is therefore one of the key parameters we measure. We guarantee a minimum operational availability of at least 98.5% for our own projects and the solar parks we manage, for example for Sibelga or Aster. Operational available means an irradiance of at least 50 W/m² solar panel area.
The higher the availability of our solar parks compared to the sector as a whole, the higher the productivity (kWh/kWp), and therefore higher the profitability.
EnergyVision solar parks (2021-2023)
2021
2022
2023
Benchmark in the sector (2021-2023)
2021
2022
2023
Energy production in our solar parks
The total energy production of our entire portfolio is closely monitored and broken down into B2B and B2C, as well asper country, as solar irradiance differs greatly.
We also measure the energy production for each individual site, expressed in kWh/year.
That shows the relative performance, expressed in kWh/kWp/year, i.e. the number of kWh each solar panel installed generates per year at a given location.
The results also vary greatly for each location. That is logical, as this is heavily dependent on the orientation, slope and location of the installation. Sophisticated engineering, along with good maintenance and monitoring are all key to obtaining higher productivity.
Compared to 2022, irradiation was up to 12% lower in Belgium and up to 10% lower in Morocco. In China, however, we saw higher irradiance, up by 6%.
Interventions at our solar parks
We use the term ‘intervention’ to mean any alarm that requires an interaction, either remotely or by sending a technicianon site. These are corrective interventions.
Alarms come from our monitoring platforms or customer alerts. Customers can send an alert through our general service line, which is available 24/7. We have technicians on call throughout the year, even on public holidays or weekends, meaning they can be on hand whenever necessary.
The figures below are available for the Belgian service department, and therefore specifically for the managementof the Belgian portfolio.
As our portfolio increases, the number of interventions increases too, although the increase is negligible thanks tothe performance of our installations.
We distinguish between two types of intervention: preventive and corrective.
For industrial (B2B) installations, a preventive maintenance plan is drawn up to guarantee that the installation works as it should. This includes an annual electrics check and a two-yearly mechanical check with a thorough clean of the installation. Electrical maintenance means that the solar panels, inverters and electrical panel are checked to ensure they are working well. During mechanical maintenance, the mechanical fastening of the solar panels and structures receive a visual inspection. The solar panels are cleaned using osmosis water.
For corrective interventions, there are two types of alarms that show what type of intervention might be needed. There are alarms that could have a real impact on production, (for example a faulty inverter or wiring insulation). Then, there are alarms that relate to issues with communications (network outage, temporary poor connection to the platform, etc.).
Every alarm is assigned a priority level linked to a specific Service Level Agreement. Most alarms get an immediate response, often within two hours and always within the first 24 hours. This does not necessarily mean the issue is resolved. However, an action plan is put in place to get the installation operational again as quickly as possible. This must always happen within the deadlines stipulated in the Service Level Agreement.
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Composition: Ilse Maes
With assistance from: Laurens De Greef, Laura Maenhaut, Koen Decourt, Klaas Michielssens, Michèle Adams, Kathleen Van Herrewegen, Sander Wille, Elias Pittoors, Jan De Rycke, Lizz De Walsche, Jonas Haustraete, Meghan Richil, Stijn Keppens
Design: Ilse Maes
Publisher: Maarten Michielssens
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