Helexia implemented rooftop solar on 28 stores of Leroy Merlin and Auchan, Daniela Andrei, Country Director of Helexia Romania, told Energynomics.

”At the beginning of September this year we celebrated the successful implementation of a large portfolio of solar rooftops for Leroy Merlin and Auchan, 28 stores and 12.8 MW implemented.

With an estimated annual output exceeding 14 gigawatt hours, the solar rooftops will meet around 20-30% of each store’s energy consumption. Auchan Retail and Leroy Merlin will save annually over 8,000 tons of CO2 emissions while reducing their energy bills”, she said.

In Romania as well as in its other countries of operation, Helexia oversees the development, construction, and maintenance of solar rooftops as a service provider or, as it is the case in Romania for Auchan Retail and Leroy Merlin, as an owner of the solar rooftops.

”Our local team is scouting energy-intensive players where our spectrum of services and especially our expertise addresses properly today’s clients’ challenges. In Industries like the automotive sector, where decarbonization is crucial to reach competitiveness, we are glad to support suppliers like OPmobility to meet their sustainability targets,” she added.

Daniela Andrei also said that challenges in developing new projects includes the fact that legislation changes too often. Other challenges include increased intermittency, limited grid flexibility and high balancing costs.

However, in the past two years, growth has been significant, especially, in solar and wind, supported by EU funds and national incentives.

”Since 2023, our Capex have decreased but they now are stabilised,” she also said.