Belgium’s LCL Data Centers has brought a 3.4MW portfolio of rooftop solar projects online.

The portfolio consists of four plants installed on the roofs of farm buildings in East and West Flanders.

LCL invested a total of €3 million ($3.33m) into the project. It was constructed in partnership with Belgian renewable developer Nett Energie and business-to-business energy supplier Elindus.

The energy generated will be used to decarbonize LCL’s operations across Belgium. The project is linked to several small-scale corporate Power Purchase Agreements with local farmers to support lower energy prices and enable them to step up “nature-based farming activities.”

Elindus will ensure that the solar energy generated is supplied to LCL’s data centers in the region. As part of this agreement, Elindus has created an interactive dashboard which provides comprehensive generation and consumption information on LCL’s renewable portfolio.

‘We have decided to go for additional generation, rather than buying up existing capacity,’ said Laurens van Reijen, managing director of LCL Data Centers. ‘We want to obtain the highest possible sustainability certification, which means generating additional green energy is essential. At LCL, we also want to link the generation of energy to its production in order to maximize the use of renewable energy sources and contribute to a more balanced electricity grid.”

Following the completion of the solar projects, LCL now generates around 40 percent of its energy requirements via renewable energy during the summer period. LCL has a target of achieving 40 percent of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030.

LCL links its climate neutrality to its commitment to the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). The SBTi initiative targets a 42 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and a commitment to offset the remaining emissions through sustainable projects, such as replacing diesel fuels with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).

The company has made several investments in recent years to bolster its sustainability credentials.

In February, it powered up three wind turbines in Belgium, with a combined capacity of 6.9MW. The onshore wind turbines are part of the company’s strategy to build its own renewable energy assets rather than purchasing existing capacity.

In October 2022, LCL announced its first HVO deployment at LCL Brussels-West in Aalst, where the company invested in six new 2.25MVA generators.

Last year, LCL completed the expansion of a solar park at the LCL Wallonia One data center in Gembloux, Belgium. The expansion added 1,300 photovoltaic panels to the existing 2,000, increasing the park’s overall capacity from 1MW to 1.6MW and covering 10 percent of the data center’s energy needs.

LCL currently operates five data centers in the Belgian market. Last April, the company announced a €30 million ($32.6m) investment into the expansion of its Brussels-North facility.