The facility will cover an area of c.80,000 sq. m. – an area the size of approximately eleven football pitches – and is expected to provide an output of approximately 8.9 MW at full operation, which corresponds to an annual production of 7,880 MWh. This would be enough to supply a single car about 1,000 times around the world.
NREP is renowned for leading the real estate sector’s decarbonisation drive and has set a 2028 net zero target, well ahead of the IPCC’s target date of 2050. The solar park will be installed by Logicenters and will enable DLS Bålsta’s tenant, Axfood's purchasing and logistics company Dagab, to operate using clean renewable solar electricity.
The DLS Bålsta logistics facility is 30 metres high, with a fully automated order picking system that will operate several temperature zones. It is due to become operational in 2023. The solar park will be installed by the supplier Solkompaniet and will comprise 16,553 high-quality bifacial panels that have double-sided active solar cells and long durability. Energy will be provided to Axfood via a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement), whereby the company purchases all electricity produced over the next 25 years, with the opportunity to resell any surplus production.
Matthias Kettelhoit, CEO of Logicenters, said: “Our record-breaking investment in renewable energy is core to us achieving NREP’s ambitious sustainability goals. Logicenters has installed just over 20 PV projects, which we hope to double in partnership with our tenants. We are very proud of this collaboration which is a real success story. This solar park will be the jewel in the crown of one of Europe's most modern real estate facilities.
“The rooftops of logistics properties provide a fantastic opportunity to save CO2 by becoming a significant producer of renewable electricity that can be used by both tenants and external parties, with surplus going into the grid.”
NREP is the largest real estate investment manager in the Nordics with approximately €17 bn of assets under management. It has long pioneered sustainability in real estate, which plays a central role in its value creation strategy and has committed to being carbon neutral by 2028 without offsets. Spearheading initiatives to date include the use of CO2 neutral geothermal heating, projects such as the world’s first 100% upcycled concrete building and ‘UN17 Village’, the first large-scale project to align with all of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. By 2023, NREP's embedded carbon dioxide from construction processes and materials will be 33 percent lower than 2020. Emissions from the operation of standing properties will be at least 50 percent lower than 2020.
