About the project
EMEC is going to install its second solar plant on the roof of the sports hall in Ulestraten in 2022. This will be EMEC’s fifth solar plant within 3 years. The municipality of Meerssen has made the roof available and is contributing to the energy transition and the necessary citizen participation. The plan is to install 104 panels with a capacity of 41,000 kWp.
On March 1st, we applied for the necessary SCE subsidy and now we are starting to recruit members. The roof has already been inspected by a structural engineer and has been found strong enough to support solar panels. An important point is that the roof section where the new solar plant will be located is new and we will not have to worry about the quality of the roof during the energy production period.
The plan is, if everything goes well and we find enough participants, that the plant will be operational in early October. This will be the fifth solar plant that EMEC has realized in Meerssen.
How does it work financially?
As of March 1st, EMEC has applied for the necessary SCE (Subsidy for Cooperative Energy Generation) from RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency).
If EMEC is granted the subsidy (by the end of May), the project will officially start. However, we will start looking for members before then because we expect to be granted the subsidy. We need at least 9 members within Groot Meerssen (see postcodes in the flyer) to comply with the SCE regulation. Each participant can decide how much to invest, but there is a minimum of €250 and a maximum of €3,500. Only when we have enough participants and we are sure that the financing is in place, will we give the installer the order to build the installation. The members/participants provide the financing for the installation with their participation/contribution. EMEC, the cooperative, owns the installation.
EMEC pays out a proportionate amount to the participants of the solar plant each year, based on the subsidy received and the sale of electricity. We can achieve a return for the members, over 15 years, of 4-4.5%. However, this is not a guarantee but a reasonable assumption based on our previous projects and the experience of other cooperatives in the Netherlands with similar projects.
Participate without your own money.
In this project, we also allow people who are not financially able to invest to participate in the solar plant, so that the energy transition becomes something for all of us, and not just for those who can afford to invest. This is explained in the brochure.
Key figures for participants
Number of tiles: 735
Contribution per tile: €50
Minimum investment: €250 (5 tiles)
Maximum investment: €3,500 (70 tiles)
Expected return: 4-4.5%