Kuurne installs first solar park.

Kuurne installs first solar park. The idea is to install panels on all its buildings, aiming to reduce the city’s Co2 emission by 20%.  

“It’s just one of the steps that the Flanders region is taking to meet its climate goals”, according to Minister Bart Tommelein. Belgium will need to install an additional 30 million solar panels before 2020. This is undoubtebly a massive undertaking. However, Mr Tommelein is confident that Belgium can do it. “I believe in this. Mainly because it is a goal shared between all belgian governments and we have to get this done. And we will”, he says.

Ministry of Solar takes care of the technical side and has just installed the first panels on Kuurne’s city hall.  A third party finances the project, as the city did not have the financial means. The solution was to include a third party, who invests in the solar installations. Additionally, locals can opt in on ‘solar shares’ or they can buy panels themselves. Because of that Kuurne is hopeful to raise sufficient funding for the other installations.

You can watch the interview with Mr. Tommelein on the Kanaal Z website (in Dutch).