“Spice Shopping Center installs the Baltics’ First Solar Panel Park for Sustainable Energy”

Spice shopping center has taken another step towards sustainability by installing a solar panel park on its roof.

Thus, Spice has now become the first mall to do so. This innovative project is the first of its kind in the Baltics and is part of the shopping center’s commitment to sustainable and renewable energy.

The solar panel park, which was installed at the end of 2022 in cooperation with “Elektrum”, reaches 5,000 square meters in size on the roof of the shopping center parking lot. A total of 1,450 solar panels have been installed with a total system capacity of 652 kW, which will produce at least 555 MWh for the shopping center annually. All green electricity produced will be used for the company’s self-consumption, which will provide 15% of the company’s total electricity consumption and provide an opportunity to be more independent from electricity producers and market prices.

The construction of this solar panel park is a serious step in achieving the strategic sustainability goals of the Spice shopping center. We are really pleased with our cooperation partner “Elektrum”, which helped us become the first retailer in the Baltics to install a renewable energy park of this scale. We do not plan to stop only at the solar panel park, but will continue to invest in sustainable solutions that would contribute to the reduction of the ecological footprint of the shopping centers “Spice” and “Spice Home”.

Iveta Priedīte, manager of the shopping center “Spice” and “Spice Home”.

The produced electricity is planned to be used for the consumption of the “Spice” shopping center itself, and the electricity produced by the solar power plant “goes in step” with the consumption needs of the shopping center’s equipment, mainly cooling systems in the summer period. We are pleased with the successful cooperation with the client, interest and previous preparatory work, which allowed the project to be implemented at the optimal time. The east-west arrangement of the solar panel system ensures a longer and more even overall energy production during daylight hours, instead of just a sharp rise in production in the middle of the day. Thus, “Spice” gets a “cushion” of energy costs exactly in accordance with the convenience of business and customers during the active period of the day, which indicates a well-chosen production and consumption dynamics.

Dzintars Reksnis “Elektrum” Energy solutions sales manager

Shopping centers are energy-intensive buildings that consume a significant amount of electricity. By installing a solar panel park, the goal of the Spice shopping center is to reduce the amount of energy obtained from non-renewable energy sources. Thus, both the funds devoted to the maintenance of the shopping center and the resources of the tenants will be saved. The solar panel park will generate clean energy, which in turn will reduce the mall’s carbon footprint, contributing to a cleaner environment.

The installation of the solar panel park was realized in cooperation with the energy company “Elektrum”. The total investment in the project is 450,000 EUR. “Elektrum” provides a long-term service and availability guarantee for the built solar power plants, ensuring their safe operation.

A charged opinion

It is incredible that only now there is a shopping center in the Baltics that has solar panels. If it is true, then it is a great pleasure that it happened in Latvia. Maybe PROMO Cash&Carry at t/c Domina Shopping doesn’t count because of the nuances?

There are Elektrum and Eleport electric car chargers at Spice and Spice Home, which means that on sunny days, it’s highly likely that the electrons that go to the car’s battery while charging there will come from this park.