Belgian data center developer LCL Data Centers has partnered with local real estate group Van Wellen Real Estate Development and the city of Antwerp’s local authority for businesses, Business in Antwerp, on a rooftop solar installation in the Belgian city.

The partners will jointly develop a rooftop solar project on 35,000 sqm (376,735 sq ft) at a Van Wellen-owned property in the city. The project is being developed through Zonnemakelaar, an initiative that supports the installation of large-scale rooftop solar. According to the companies, the installation is expected to generate 4-4.5GWh of electricity when operational.

Laurens van Reijen, managing director of LCL, wrote on LinkedIn: “This project demonstrates how collaboration can help overcome some of the practical challenges of the energy transition. Increasing renewable energy production isn’t just about investing in more solar panels or wind turbines. It’s also about finding suitable locations, establishing long-term agreements, and bringing together companies from different sectors.”

“For LCL Data Centers, this partnership reflects our long-term energy strategy: taking greater responsibility for how our electricity is produced, investing in renewable energy and working with partners beyond our own industry,” he added.

LCL operates five data center locations in Belgium: three in Brussels, one in Antwerp, and one in the town of Wallonia, just south of Brussels.

This is not the first rooftop solar initiative that LCL has completed in Belgium. In May of last year, the company announced that it 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.

The solar initiatives are part of a broader effort by the company to embed sustainability into its operations.

Last 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.