Pan-Europe

VIA Outlets owns and operates 11 outlet shopping destinations across 9 countries.

PROJECT GOAL

Via Outlets wanted to develop a coordinated renewable energy strategy across their entire portfolio.

CHALLENGE

Landlord electricity consumption was too low for most conventional Corporate PPAs: The smallest corporate PPAs that come with any level of additionality are typically in the range of at least 10 to 15 MWp. However, as the majority of Via Outlets’ assets are outdoor, open-air shopping outlets, the landlord controlled electricity consumption was relatively low. Tenant support would be required to underpin a meaningful level of consumption. Data availability was also a challenge, as many assets did not have smart meters set up to monitor and record their historical electricity load profiles, essential in renewable energy analysis and modelling.

The incentives and regulations around onsite generation vary greatly across Europe: As part of the analysis, VIA Outlets also looked into the potential for onsite electricity generation, namely solar PV. However, there was a complicated web of incentives, regulations, and tax implications that had to be examined on a country by country basis.

Different renewable energy options (corporate PPAs, onsite generation, green tariffs) were all treated differently by various sustainability accreditation schemes (GRESB, CREEM, BREEAM, SBTi, etc): To tie back the impact of the renewable energy deployment, VIA outlets had to translate this outcome to their impact on various sustainability metrics and schemes. However, most of them approached the renewable energy options differently, and it was unclear which options and schemes should be prioritised.

SOLUTION

Longevity identified the potential to increase consumption volume by widening electricity procurement to include tenants: The team analysed the shopping centre’s electricity consumption patterns, taking into account both the landlord and tenant electricity consumption to analyse the financial and carbon impact of different renewable energy options. Scenarios were modelled to highlight the importance of tenant engagement and gain support within VIA Outlets to push for a tenant-based approach.

Longevity liaised directly with different utility providers needed to obtain the required information. To address the data gaps, Longevity drew upon its experience with similar assets in the region to develop a consumption pattern that could be used for a high-level study.

Longevity engaged local legal and accountancy firms to develop a detailed picture of the regulations across Europe: Longevity leveraged its pan-European team and network to analyse the legislative and business implications of onsite PV generation and electricity sales across the target countries. It delivered details on the onsite PV incentive structures, treatment of carbon certificates, licensing requirements, and potential tax implications across VIA Outlets’ portfolio.

Longevity utilised its experience in working with different sustainability schemes and developed a framework to prioritise the different renewable energy options: Longevity examined all the relevant schemes and analysed the impact of different options on the sustainability scheme. With the rapidly evolving ESG investing landscape, Longevity also considered how each scheme will evolve and prioritised renewable energy options with clear additionality, which future proofs the investment as ESG requirements inevitable tighten.

BENEFITS

Following our installation, Via Outlets was able to:

• Develop a clear implementation roadmap, and prioritise assets for immediate advancement to a detailed onsite renewable energy assessment
• Develop a centralised approach to the procurement of off-site renewable energy, both in terms of green tariffs and corporate PPAs
• Understand the carbon abatement potential of onsite renewable energy generation across the entire portfolio, and its contribution to their net-zero ambitions