After a fruitful collaboration that began in 2018 on warehouses at 'Brussels 2' in Anderlecht, AG Real Estate and Brussels start-up Skysun extended their historic partnership to the Office & Retail business of the AG Insurance real-estate subsidiary in 2020.
Today marks an important new step, a sthis major real-estate player moves to support the growth of the ambitious solar start-up. Using the funds provided by AG Real Estate, Skysun is planning to develop 100 MW of photovoltaic capacity by 2026. This new milestone also enables AG Real Estate to purchase the green energy produced by these installations and thereby advance its CSR ambitions.
A photovoltaic funding vehicle
The two companies have decided to set up a partnership through a subsidiary of Skysun to develop and operate photovoltaic projects with AG Real Estate as a financial partner.
The partnership has a target of developing 100 MWp within 5 years.
To the uninitiated, this capacity means:
- installing some 275,000 panels;
- the consumption of around 30,000 households;
- saving some 23,500 tons of CO2 a year (equivalent to around 185,000,000 km by car a year with average emissions of 127g/CO2/km).
“We will now be able to focus fully on the development of sustainable projects. Securing such a financial partnership is a crucial step for Skysun,” said Arthur Dawans, co-founder and CEO of Skysun.
Sharing of skills and space
This model is particularly interesting for stakeholders. Skysun will run all the projects and will be responsible for installing them and handling the long-term maintenance. As far as possible, the green energy they generate will be for own consumption on site.
Although the start-up has plans to expand into other European countries, the newly founded subsidiary will operate as a priority in Belgium and France.
This financial model covering design, investment and maintenance is a Win-Win-Win model, for the owner, for Skysun and for the planet.
Alongside this financial relationship, Skysun will continue to advise AG Real Estate.
Third-party investment services enable property owners to make profitable use of the unused areas of their property. For example, they can turn a profit not only from roof spaces but also from car parks, using photovoltaic carports. Working with Skysun means enjoying all the benefits of solar energy and its positive impacts, both ecological and financial, without having to bear the investment and management costs.
“This financial partnership should allow Skysun to embark on ambitious projects and is fully in line with the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policy of AG Real Estate. This collaboration also allows us to use green energy, a significant factor in optimising the carbon footprint of our portfolio,” says Marc Van Begin, Chief Financial Officer of AG Real Estate.
