Ghelamco commences construction of its own photovoltaic farms to reduce carbon footprint by 50%

Ghelamco launches construction of photovoltaic farms with a total capacity of 10 MW. By 2024 the company intends to achieve energy neutrality. Warsaw UNIT will be the first skyscraper in Poland powered entirely by clean electricity.

The construction of photovoltaic farms by Ghelamco is a first-of-its-kind, groundbreaking project in the developer's ESG strategy and a significant step towards becoming totally energy neutral. The photovoltaic farms will be constructed in six locations within the Opole region.

"We have been buying energy with green certificates since 2015, but this was not sufficient. We wanted to take another major step towards reducing our carbon footprint. Therefore, we decided to produce clean energy ourselves. Among other things, Ghelamco in Poland wants to achieve energy neutrality by 2024. Soon, we will present other revolutionary solutions that make up our ESG strategy," says Jeroen van der Toolen, Managing Director of Ghelamco Poland.

Warsaw UNIT will be the developer's first skyscraper to become 100 per cent powered by clean energy. The skyscraper is already the most ecological office building in Poland, having among others the BREEAM certificate on the Outstanding level, that is the highest that can be obtained, and received pre-certification from the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI) in the latest WELL v2 Core system.

Warsaw UNIT is just the first step in reducing CO2 emissions. Ghelamco aims to power its entire office buildings, its current investments, as well as its own office space with energy generated from its own renewable sources. This is an unprecedented case in terms of the entire country. According to Ghelamco, an increasing number of international and domestic corporations are implementing ESG strategies; the requirements for office space are growing.

"Innovative projects implemented by Ghelamco determine the trends for sustainable development. This is of great importance for our tenants. Besides clean energy, Signal OS analytical platform, which is a great tool for constant monitoring of energy consumption, is also offered to our tenants. By choosing Ghelamco's office buildings, companies which implement ESG strategies are guaranteed that their business can contribute to reducing carbon footprint," informs Jarosław Zagórski, Commercial and Development Director at Ghelamco Poland.

"The crucial competitive advantage of the project designed by us is related to considerable reduction of CO2 emission from the produced electricity owing to its own renewable source. Ghelamco will use the highest quality panels that will guarantee efficient energy production for a period of 30 years. Also in this project we analyse the whole life cycle of the product from the perspective of the lowest possible impact on the environment," adds Jarosław Fiutowski, member of the Management Board responsible for ESG strategy and innovation at Ghelamco Poland.

The very first photovoltaic farms with a total capacity of 10 MW will cover the annual energy demand for Warsaw Unit. The carbon footprint of the skyscraper was previously analysed by Ghelamco. By using renewable energy, the CO2 emissions for the Warsaw Unit over its entire life cycle will be reduced by 53%, and in terms of media consumption, by up to 70%.

The contract related to the implementation of the first of the farms was concluded with the Polish company Revolt Energy. Production of clean electricity is planned as early as in the third quarter of 2022.