Citycon continues to invest in solar power. Solar panels have been installed on the roof of Myyrmanni shopping centre. The energy generated from the panels will be used to power the lifts and escalators in the shopping centre. Myyrmanni is Citycon’s sixth shopping centre to generate solar electricity. The exploitation of solar electricity in Citycon’s shopping centres will pick up speed over the coming years as Citycon is planning to install solar panels at six more shopping centres.
On the roof of the Myyrmanni shopping centre are 651 solar panels, which generate approximately 200 MWh of energy annually. This corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 83 three-room flats. The energy generated by solar panels in the shopping centre is used to power lifts, escalators and lighting for the public areas, among other things. Currently, there are solar power plants at six of Citycon’s shopping centres in Finland, Sweden and Norway, and annually they produce a total of approximately 1,900 MWh of energy.
One of the objectives in Citycon’s sustainability strategy is to generate renewable or extracted energy at all of the company’s shopping centres by the end of 2023.
“Regarding solar power plants, this practically means that we aim to maximise the use solar power in our shopping centres. We will install solar power plants in all properties where it is technically possible and financially profitable,” says Citycon Group Sustainability Manager Wilhelm Ehrnrooth.
Plans to increase solar power
Of Citycon’s shopping centres in Finland, Iso Omena in Espoo and IsoKristiina in Lappeenranta utilise solar power. There are approximately 2,000 solar panels on the roof of Iso Omena, which generate annually approximately 460 MWh of solar electricity. This capacity corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of about 230 blocks of flats. A total of 520 solar panels were installed on the roof of IsoKristiina shopping centre in Lappeenranta, with a maximum annual energy production of 138 MWh. This capacity corresponds to the annual energy demand of about 65 flats.
Also, two of Citycon’s shopping centres in Sweden, Kista Galleria and Jakobsbergs Centrum, both in the centre of Stockholm, generate solar electricity. The solar park of shopping centre Down Town, in Porsgrunn, Norway, is the world’s largest solar plant with snow melting technology, and it covers 15% of the shopping centre’s energy consumption.
The next step is to install solar power plants at the Finnish shopping centres Columbus in Vuosaari, Trio in Lahti and Koskikeskus in Tampere. In Sweden, two more shopping centres are having solar panels installed, and Citycon is looking into installing a solar power plant in Kristiine Keskus in Tallinn.
The objective is to generate 3,800 MWh of solar energy once all the planned properties have been completed. This capacity approximately corresponds to the annual energy consumption of two and half years of local sports centre.
