The challenge

Today, one in eight Flemish buildings already has solar panels or a solar water heater. But to meet the energy targets - 25,074 GWh of renewable energy by 2020 - a lot of green energy still needs to be produced. To make Flemings aware of the necessity and usefulness of solar energy, the Flemish government decided to carefully map every Flemish roof: what potential does solar technology offer? What is the payback time, and where can you find installers, green loans or subsidies? A technological feat for which the Flemish Energy Agency (VEA) joined forces with GIM, ONE Agency, Agency Information Flanders and the research centre VITO.

The solution

The project partners each brought their share of expertise to the project: VEA and VITO provided info on parameters such as roof area, orientation and slope angle for over 2.6 million Flemish buildings. Meanwhile, GIM drew on its GeoICT know-how to build the online map application. On top of that graphical interface, we integrated a mass of information that owners can consult and apply to their own building. The icing on the cake is a module that simulates a solar installation on your roof. 

The result

In March 2017, the Flemish solar map saw the light of day. Homeowners can see via a colour code how suitable their roof - or even a certain part of it - is for solar energy. On a clear dashboard, they then find out how many solar panels or collectors are possible, what they cost, how quickly they pay back, and where to find installers, loans or subsidies.

This assignment was commissioned by VEA ism VITO and AIV. Consult the Solar Map at www.energiesparen.be/zonnekaart