On December 13th, 2017, FlexSol Solutions presented the latest generation of the FlexSol solar roof tile to the Energy Agreement committee of the Social and Economic Council in the Netherlands. The committee is responsible for accomplishing the nation-wide goals defined by the Agreement on Energy for Sustainable Growth. Ed Nijpels, chairman of the Energy Agreement committee and former Dutch minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, therefore invited Koen Haest of FlexSol Solutions to exhibit the solar roof tile and explain how it can restructure the energy market.
The FlexSol solar roof tile has the potential to contribute significantly to the energy transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. Research of environmental organisation Milieu Centraal shows that over a quarter of Dutch households will not adopt solar panels due to aesthetics, or because their roofs are deemed unfit for mounting traditional solar panels. Koen Haest explains: “With the FlexSol solar roof tile, we aim to make the application of solar technology possible on every roof”.
The key to making these solar shingles a success in the European market isn’t just to make them energy efficient. They also have to fit the houses and look good. A key feature of the FlexSol solar roof tile is that the solar cells are integrated in a traditional ceramic shingle. Besides being highly efficient, the solar roof is indistinguishable from your average Western European tiled roof.
The new normal roof will have solar tiles
Every year, 150.000 houses with tiled roofs are being renovated or newly built in the Netherlands alone. The potential to shift towards sustainable energy production is enormous. “If all ±5 million houses with standard, tiled roofs in the Netherlands would have our solar roof tiles, this would produce sufficient electricity to power all 7,8 million households in the Netherlands: even those households without a tiled roof”, according to Haest.
The committee stressed that one of the biggest challenges in meeting the goals of the Energy Agreement is making the existing housing stock more sustainable. FlexSol Solutions proves itself ready to meet this challenge, and is preparing to construct the first demonstration roofs in spring 2018!
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