How to fight energy poverty while meeting climate goals: free solar for social housing

In Flanders, Belgium, the cooperative ASTER and EnergyVision are implementing a scalable model to install solar panels on social rental homes. By using private and housing company resources rather than government subsidies, the project provides tenants with electricity at rates below market price and the social tariff. The initiative aims to install 395,000 panels on 52,500 homes between 2022 and 2026, employing refugees for installation and reinvesting surplus energy profits into further sustainability efforts.

• Between 2022 and 2026, the Flemish social housing sector and ASTER plan to invest approximately €155 million in private and internal resources to install 395,000 solar panels across 52,500 social rental homes at no cost to the tenants.
• The model provides social tenants with a legal guarantee that the solar power they consume from their roofs will be priced 10-35% below the market price, offering savings compared to both the market price and the government-subsidized 'social tariff'.
• The project utilizes a circular financial and social model where installations are performed by trained refugees, and profits from selling excess energy to the grid are used to fund further sustainable housing or provide bonuses to tenants without solar panels.
• The ASTER model is designed to be scalable and replicable in other regions or countries without requiring government budget allocations; interest has already been expressed by Morocco and Senegal.

APA

Michielssens, S. V. E. M. (2023). How to fight energy poverty while meeting climate goals: free solar for social housing. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/fight-energy-poverty-climate-goals-free-solar-panels-social-housing-a6e2532544/

Chicago

Michielssens, Sven Van Elst, Maarten. How to fight energy poverty while meeting climate goals: free solar for social housing. World Economic Forum, 2023. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/fight-energy-poverty-climate-goals-free-solar-panels-social-housing-a6e2532544/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Michielssens |first1=Sven Van Elst, Maarten |title=How to fight energy poverty while meeting climate goals: free solar for social housing |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=8 August 2023 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/fight-energy-poverty-climate-goals-free-solar-panels-social-housing-a6e2532544/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{michielssens2023how, author = {Michielssens, Sven Van Elst, Maarten}, title = {{How to fight energy poverty while meeting climate goals: free solar for social housing}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/fight-energy-poverty-climate-goals-free-solar-panels-social-housing-a6e2532544/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }