Solar rooftop systems for German supermarket chain

METRO Deutschland, which operates over 100 cash and carry supermarkets across Germany, says it will install photovoltaic rooftop power systems on up to 30 of its stores. Energy provider E.ON will install the solar systems as part of a continuing partnership.

The project will commence at METRO locations in Mannheim and Gundelfingen, near Freiburg, where the solar plants are expected to produce a total of up to 20 GWh of electricity per year, corresponding to around 9% of the stores’ total electricity requirements and going some way to helping the supermarket chain achieve its climate target of halving emissions by 2030. METRO will operate the solar plants, and estimates it will save 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year through the scheme. Since 2013, METRO and E.ON have partnered to help businesses in Germany and Russia reduce emissions by implementing decentralised energy supply systems in the stores, including combined heat and power systems.

• A solar PV system has been deployed at the Bab Al-Hawa Hopsital in northern Syria, consisting of 480 solar PV panels with a capacity of 127 kWp, and 288 batteries capable of storing 720 kWh. The project is expected to save the hospital over 7,000 litres of diesel per month, which amounts to roughly 20–30% of the hospital’s monthly energy expenditure.