Funded by the INTERREG programme, the SOLARISE project brings together 12 partners from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK around a common objective: deploying solar energy solutions on a large scale in one of the most densely populated regions in Europe.

The objectives of SOLARISE

One of targets of the EU climate and energy framework: increasing the share of renewable energies to at least 32% of the final consumption by 2030. Among those, solar energy is one of the most abundant energy sources. However, certain challenges are hindering the deployment of the main photovoltaic and concentrated solar technologies: excessively long returns on investment, sunshine variability, storage, etc.

To meet those challenges, the SOLARISE project (“Solar Adoption in the 2 Seas”) was launched in 2018 for 4 years. The project, co-funded by the INTERREG 2 Seas programme, brings together 12 universities and local authorities from 4 countries, more specifically the coastal regions of the Channel and the North Sea: France (Hauts-de-France), Belgium (Flanders), the Netherlands and Southern United Kingdom.

Pilot projects, Living Labs and good practices

To do so, SOLARISE is testing and validating several solar energy solutions – mainly photovoltaics and concentrated solar power – in urban and rural areas through:

• on the one hand, pilot projects on public and historical buildings (in Fourmies in France, Middelkerke and Zoersel in Belgium and Middelburg in the Netherlands), as well as social housing (in Brighton, UK);
• and secondly, “Living Labs” which focus on the development of innovative technologies, at the Université de Picardie Jules Verne (France), KU Leuven (Belgium) and the University of Portsmouth (UK).

Through these demonstration projects, SOLARISE aims to promote sustainable business models and help remove barriers to widen adoption of solar energy. In addition, the project also aims to disseminate good practices and solar roadmaps to accelerate the adoption of solar energy in the 2 Seas area and beyond.

More information about the project

Interested in the project? On 25 June 2020 (15:00 C.E.T.), SOLARISE is organising a webinar as part of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW). Registration is free (but compulsory) here.

To keep up with news from SOLARISE, do not hesitate to join the social networks of the project via LinkedIn or Facebook. And finally, you can join the SOLARISE community by becoming an ambassador of the project, more information here!