Panattoni Netherlands and Sunrock announce their partnership

The current and future Panattoni developments deliver a potential of 400,000 square meters of solar roofs. That is enough to supply about 22,000 households with locally generated green electricity. However, in several places in the Netherlands there is grid congestion, which means that it is not yet possible to feed the generated solar energy back to the grid. This overload of the energy network also means that new buildings cannot receive a (full) electricity connection. For this situation, Sunrock developed an energy management system that combines solar energy with battery storage. In this way, a building can meet its own energy needs at all times and is not dependent on a connection to the grid. This innovative system was installed for the first time in the Netherlands earlier this week on the new 24,000 sqm Panattoni building in ‘s-Heerenberg. Tenant Nunner Logistics has the scoop. 

The BREEAM-certified Panattoni building in ‘s-Heerenberg will be provided with sufficient solar panels for its own use for the time being. A smart energy management system – combined with a battery – ensures that the surplus of solar energy is temporarily stored and available when the energy requirement exceeds the supply. 

As part of the collaboration, the parties also announced plans for the first energy-producing Panattoni building in the Netherlands: Panattoni Park Heerlen. This offers about 70,000 square meters of roof surface, which could be used entirely for the generation and supply of clean, green energy. 

Grid Congestion Solution. Maurits van Oranje, Chief Commercial Officer of Sunrock: “The scale of the developments at Panattoni Netherlands offers enormous potential for generating green energy. Unfortunately we are experiencing grid congestion in some locations which means we are not yet able to feed back to the grid, but that is only a matter of time. In the meantime, we can ensure that Panattoni’s extensive developments can function independently of the energy grid through tailor-made energy solutions and do not put extra pressure on the already overloaded network. Panattoni’s 24,000 square meter building in ‘s-Heerenberg is a good example of this. Fully operational with only a building connection due to the application of solar panels, a battery and a smart energy system,” says Van Oranje. 

Power plants of the future. Jeroen Gerritsen, Managing Director of Panattoni the Netherlands: “We are in the middle of an energy crisis and the need for locally generated green energy is more urgent than ever. However, the space available for sustainable energy projects in the Netherlands is limited. The partnership with Sunrock offers us the opportunity to contribute to a solution to this challenge by transforming the surface of our roofs into clean solar power plants. In the long run, they can generate green energy for tens of thousands of households. And that energy is desperately needed. This double use of space gives our developments a valuable additional function. Moreover, the users of our buildings are assured of a reliable supply of green energy generated on their own roof.”

The new center in ‘s-Heerenberg, developed by Panattoni, was equipped with a solar energy installation this week. The BREEAM certified building is used by Nunner Logistics, provider of an integrated portfolio of logistics services that spans the entire supply chain from source to end user. CEO Erwin Cootjans: “Nunner has been active in ‘s-Heerenberg for some time. Our company has experienced tremendous growth in recent years and we urgently needed more space. By cleverly deploying the battery for solar energy storage, we were able to immediately move into this new state-of-the-art building in ‘s-Heerenberg. Because of this smart solution the limited network activity in this area did not form an obstacle to the sustainable expansion of our services and our business processes also run on our own generated clean electricity. Fantastic! In 2022, the use of green energy is a no-brainer anyway and with Sunrock Panattoni has a party on board that really sets the tone.” said Cootjans.