The World’s Largest Circular Solar Installation - ENGIE Sun4Business
4.600 SOLO solar panels
500 Wp per solar panel
2,3 MWp total
In the presence of the mayor of Genk Wim Dries, SABIC officially inaugurated the world's largest solar installation using fully recyclable materials at his site in Genk. The innovative solar panels from Dutch manufacturer Solarge are 100% recyclable and significantly lighter than traditional solar panels. ENGIE was responsible of the installation and financing.
The installation consists of 4,600 solar panels. These were developed by SABIC and Solarge, and manufactured by Solarge, the startup Dutch manufacturer that opened its first plant in the Netherlands last year. A unique feature of these solar panels is that they are composed of fully separable layers, so all components can be disassembled and reused. Thanks to the use of innovative polymers - produced by SABIC in Genk - these solar panels also contain no glass and very little aluminum, making them half as light and reducing the carbon footprint by 25% compared to traditional solar panels.
The solar installation was designed, financed, and installed by ENGIE Sun4Business, the Belgian subsidiary of ENGIE that helps companies reduce their CO2 emissions with solar energy. It will produce about 2,000 megawatts of renewable electricity annually, equivalent to the average annual consumption of nearly 700 families. The electricity generated will be consumed almost entirely by the plant and will help SABIC reduce its CO2 emissions by 800 tons per year for at least 25 years.
Jan Vesseur, CEO Solarge said, “We are showing that European manufacturers are making a difference by betting on innovation and sustainability. Solarge's ambition is to accelerate the energy transition worldwide with sustainable, PFAS-free solar panels that are also recyclable at the end of their useful life. To that end, we are working to expand our capacity in the Netherlands and the United States. Our focus market is the C&I market, specifically weight-restricted roofs. With this we unlock a huge additional potential of roofs for the use of solar panels by owners and users. In addition, we are also helping to relieve the energy grid that is overloaded in many places.”
