Hanergy Europe and PV installer Sunprojects have realized an innovative solar power system with light weight flexible solar modules on the top of office building Hojel 2 in the heart of Utrecht’s business center in the Netherlands.
The project with Hanergy’s flexible thin-film modules is a scoop for Europe. On Hojel 2’s metal roof was it, due to weight, impossible to install a solar system with tandard modules. The flexible modules for the project are produced by MiaSolé, a Silicon Valley based Hanergy subsidiary. The modules weigh only 4-6kg per square meter whereas regular modules weigh 16-20kg per square meter. Therefore, it has become possible to produce solar energy on roofs that were not suited before.
CBRE Global Investors, owner of Hojel 2, is one of the largest and most sustainable real estate investors in the world and a frontrunner in the European real estate industry with this innovative solar solution. «We constantly strive for optimization and enhancing our portfolio,» said Hans Staal, Technical Project Director of CBRE Global Investors. «In cooperation with Hanergy Europe and Sunprojects, we found a unique solution with these lightweight modules to successfully make this office even more energy efficient.»
Robert Lavies, Project Manager of Hanergy Europe, said, «We consider this project to be a large step, part of a wider European trend in which real estate investors look for innovative solutions to further enhance sustainability in existing real estate properties in a market where energy efficiency for top segments is becoming key. Because of the high module efficiency and current competitive pricing, we’re being approached by several real estate investors for this kind of lightweight and BIPV application.»

Hans Lambrechts, CEO of Sunprojects, one of the largest installers of solar projects in Belgium and the Netherlands, is very pleased with this solar project. «We are familiar with Hanergy’s solar modules and are experienced with complex solar installations in Belgium and the Netherlands. For this project we’ve used a special construction and mounting method to make sure these modules stay put at this height for a period of 20 to 25 years, fully weatherproof.» He said.
This is the fourth Hanergy project in the Netherlands over the past few months. In November 2015, Hanergy reached an agreement with AZ Alkmaar on a rooftop PV project for the football club’s AFAS Stadium, before announcing a joint project with solar power service provider Rooftop Energy to install thin-film solar modules on the rooftop of Plantion, the largest market place for florists, commercial gardeners and retailers in the Netherlands. Recently, Hanergy thin-film solar modules have been installed on Zevenaar’s City Hall.
Elsewhere in Europe, Hanergy has signed a one-year agreement to provide 400kW MiaSolé flex thin-film solar modules to Virte Solar, a subsidiary of Finnish metal roof manufacturer Virte Metal Corporation. Meanwhile, Hanergy is in cooperation with Italian PV installer TES Energia to install a total capacity of 320kW MiaSolé modules on three fire stations” rooftops in southern Italy.