By the end of 2025, Enerdeal announced two major projects in Wallonia: a 5.2 MWp power plant at the Industeel steel site in Charleroi and a ground-mounted 11 MWp power plant on a rehabilitated former landfill in La Louvière, in partnership with SPAQUE.
Two very different projects, but conveying the same message: industrial solar is no longer marginal. It is becoming a pillar of the energy transition, competitiveness, and energy sovereignty for businesses.
Two projects that summarize the DNA of Enerdeal
According to Grégoire de Pierpont, CEO of Enerdeal, these announcements fully illustrate Enerdeal's positioning. The company specializes in medium and large-scale industrial solar energy. It develops, finances, and operates projects for businesses and institutions in Belgium, as well as in Luxembourg and France. Today, this represents approximately 300 MW installed across nearly 300 projects.
The projects of Industeel and SPAQUE reflect two strong priorities: supporting heavy industries in their decarbonization and enhancing complex or otherwise unusable areas, such as brownfields or rehabilitated sites.
A measurable CO₂ impact, without opposing climate and competitiveness.
Enerdeal's installations help avoid approximately 150,000 tons of CO₂ per year. This impact, far from being anecdotal, is part of a deliberate approach: not to oppose climate transition and economic competitiveness.
At the Industeel site in Charleroi, the 5.2 MWp power plant will cover approximately 20% of the site's electricity needs, with total self-consumption. The effect is twofold: contributing to the climate goals of the ArcelorMittal group while reducing exposure to volatile energy prices.
From 'passive' solar to smart solar"
The energy market is undergoing a profound transformation. By 2030, electricity consumption is expected to increase by more than 30%, driven by the electrification of industrial uses, electric mobility, and heat pumps. At the same time, the share of renewable energy is rising significantly: it accounts for about 30% of electricity in Belgium and 40% at the European level, primarily through solar and wind energy.
This evolution creates new challenges for the grid, with peaks and troughs in production and consumption. In this context, a statically managed grid quickly reaches its limits. This explains, according to Grégoire de Pierpont, the shift from "passive" solar to intelligent solar solutions that integrate energy management systems (EMS) and battery storage.
Flexibility, profitability, and network stability: the concrete benefits.
The key contribution of smart solar is flexibility. With an Energy Management System (EMS) and batteries, an industrial site can adjust its consumption, store energy when it is abundant or inexpensive, and then release it at the right time.
For businesses, this translates into significantly improved profitability, sometimes doubling that of a conventional solar installation. For the grid, this means greater stability. And contrary to some misconceptions, smart solar does not create problems; it helps to solve them.
The barriers to B2B solar and the solutions provided by Enerdeal.
The obstacles remain well-known: availability of space, cost of initial investment, network saturation, and lack of flexibility in traditional models. Enerdeal claims to address these issues with concrete solutions, particularly through As-a-Service models (Energy as a Service) where the company fully finances the installation.
In this context, the client pays either a fee or for the energy consumed. The objective is clear: to transform a CAPEX into controlled OPEX. At the end of the contract, the power plant can be transferred to the client, who then benefits from almost free energy.
Brownfields, rooftops, parking lots: the potential of available spaces
The La Louvière project illustrates another way of addressing the issue of land use. The SAFEA site was a former landfill, unusable for other activities. Today, with a total capacity of 11 MWc, it is becoming a major hub for renewable energy production.
.Grégoire de Pierpont emphasizes one point: Wallonia can and must multiply this type of solutions. According to him, we need to move away from a simplistic opposition between solar development and land use. There is significant potential on industrial wastelands, parking lots, as well as on logistics and industrial rooftops.
Belgium is facing its objectives: clarity and priorities.
On the issue of deployment pace, the observation is clear: Belgium is lagging behind, at least in part. Flanders is progressing faster than Wallonia. In 2024, Wallonia has only installed about 92 MW, whereas it needs to reach 500 MW per year to align with European objectives.
This delay can be explained, according to Grégoire de Pierpont, by political choices, limited access to spaces, and a too static management of network capacities. He calls for clear incentives, better utilization of parking facilities, and above all, a more dynamic management of the network, allowing companies to provide their own flexibility solutions.
Internationally, some countries are advancing more quickly. China is cited as a striking example: it is investing heavily in solar energy to ensure that its industry has access to abundant, stable, and inexpensive energy. The message is clear: access to competitive energy is becoming a major strategic advantage.
A revolution, primarily economic, driven by the decrease in costs.
Regarding technological evolution, Grégoire de Pierpont points out that the panels are more efficient than they were ten years ago, but the real revolution is economic. Their price has been reduced by a factor of ten over the past fifteen years. The cost of batteries, on the other hand, has decreased by 70% in ten years. This trend makes storage economically viable and paves the way for smarter models.
Enerdeal now speaks of Smart PV: solar, EMS, artificial intelligence, and batteries. It is this combination that allows for maximizing value, both for the customer and for the electrical system.
"With solar energy, once the investment is amortized, the energy produced becomes almost free. For an industrial player, this is a decisive competitive advantage, but also a concrete step towards energy sovereignty."
Grégoire de Pierpont, CEO Enerdeal
A message to manufacturers: make photovoltaics an active solution.
The final message addressed to the member companies of Agoria is simple: photovoltaics are not the problem; they are part of the solution. A solution for climate transition, for network stability, but also for the independence and competitiveness of businesses.
Grégoire de Pierpont also emphasizes Agoria's role as a link between businesses, public authorities, and energy stakeholders. In a sometimes challenging context, the organization can help amplify the voice of the industry, share best practices, and accelerate the establishment of frameworks conducive to investment. For Enerdeal, being a member of Agoria means being part of an ecosystem that believes in a pragmatic energy transition compatible with economic competitiveness.
He concludes with an ambition: to move away from a defensive view of solar energy. With smart and well-integrated solutions, companies become fully-fledged players in the energy system. And that is exactly what Belgium needs today.