Energy Communities: An Energy Revolution Within Reach
The Complete WeSmart Solution: From Simulation to Optimized Management
1. Simulation and Sizing Phase
Nexgen: Next Generation SimulatorWeSmart's Nexgen simulation tool revolutionizes the approach to sizing energy communities. Unlike traditional "black box" approaches, Nexgen integrates:
- Enriched Profile Hub: unique database of energy profiles by activity sector
- Intelligent modeling: integration of batteries, charging stations and flexible equipment
- Real-time data: connection with dynamic market prices and meteorological data
- 3D visualization: interactive representation of energy flows
- Fine granularity: quarter-hour simulations for optimal precision
- Complementarity analysis: automatic optimization of community composition
- Multiple scenarios: comparison of different configurations and installation sizes
- Detailed ROI: precise financial calculations including all economic parameters
2. Operational Management and Optimization
EMS Platform (Energy Management System)The WeSmart EMS management platform ensures intelligent and automated management of energy communities:
Core functionalities:- Automated billing: invoice generation according to each region's regulations
- Real-time reporting: customized dashboards for each type of user
- Continuous optimization: AI algorithms to maximize collective self-consumption
- Multi-user interface: differentiated access for managers, participants and administrators
- Ultra-fast reactivity: optimization in less than one second to market variations
- Advanced predictions: predictive algorithms with >95% accuracy at 1 hour horizon
- Multi-constraint management: simultaneous optimization of technical, economic and regulatory aspects
- Sibelga partnership: privileged access to real-time data via dongles on meters
3. Integration with Grid Operators
Privileged PartnershipsWeSmart benefits from established relationships with major grid operators:
- Sibelga (Brussels): strategic partnership for real-time data collection
- ORES (Wallonia): collaboration on numerous community projects
- Brugel: first energy community approved in a business zone
This proximity with DSOs guarantees:
- Perfect regulatory compliance in the three Belgian regions
- Privileged access to data on consumption and production
- Technical support for administrative procedures
- Evolution with regulations and anticipation of changes
Economic and Environmental Benefits
Quantified Financial Benefits
For Producers:- Optimal valorization of produced energy at prices higher than injection tariffs
- Additional income stable and predictable
- Accelerated amortization of renewable installations
- 15 to 25% reduction in energy costs vs. traditional market
- Stable prices protected from market volatility
- Access to green energy without initial investment
- Purchase price: 30 €/MWh vs. average market price of 45-60 €/MWh
- Management fees: 40 €/MWh including all WeSmart services
- Net savings: 20-35% for participating consumers
Environmental Impact
- Reduction of network losses: local consumption of local production
- Infrastructure optimization: reduction of network reinforcement needs
- Acceleration of energy transition: multiplication of renewable installations
- Collective awareness: community engagement for sustainability
Concrete Use Cases: Inspiring Successes
Real Estate Managers and Business Parks
Activity zones and real estate parks represent exceptional potential for collective self-consumption. With their vast rooftops and the diversity of their occupants (offices, SMEs, warehouses), these sites allow perfect complementarity between solar production and consumption. The sharing of installation and management costs makes these projects particularly economically attractive.
Greenbizz.energy: First Success in Business Zone
The Greenbizz.energy community, located on Dieudonné Lefèvre Street in Brussels (Laeken), is a perfect example of successful implementation in a business park. This pioneering initiative, approved by Brugel and winner of the BeCircular Award 2020, brings together 60 members (20 SMEs and 40 offices) who benefit from electricity produced by nearly 1,000 photovoltaic panels (240 kWp capacity).
Concrete results:- 203 MWh/year of shared renewable energy production
- 75% collective self-consumption achieved
- 50kW/120kWh battery for optimization
- Charging stations for electric vehicles integrated
- 25-30% reduction in energy bills
- First project of this type validated in an economic activity zone in Brussels
- Unique experimentation site with multi-technology innovation: solar + battery + electric mobility + passive building
More info: https://wesmart.com/communautes/greenbizzenergy-6b055b94
Tour & Taxis.energy: Mixed Urban Innovation
In the emblematic Tour & Taxis district in Brussels, WeSmart has developed a unique energy community combining private actors and subsidized housing. With 3 MWp of installed solar capacity on the Maritime Station, this community serves 120 residential participants at Park Lane, plus companies and social housing.
Demonstrated advantages:- 3,000 MWh/year of solar production
- 70% collective self-consumption optimized
- €47,000 annual savings redistributed to the community
- 1.98 tons of CO₂ avoided each year
- Social integration: access to green energy for all types of occupants
- Flow optimization: perfect complementarity between daytime (offices) and nighttime (residential) consumption profiles
- Integrated storage: use of batteries to maximize self-consumption
- Balanced economic model: prices based on social tariff, ensuring accessibility
A laboratory for social innovation where citizen engagement and active participation transform the energy landscape with a revolutionary inclusion model.
More info: https://wesmart.com/communautes/tour-taxisenergy-d136389a
Educational Sector and Communities
Schools and universities are ideal candidates for collective self-consumption. Their vast rooftops offer significant production potential, while their inactivity periods (school holidays, weekends) create substantial surpluses. By sharing this energy with surrounding neighborhoods or other communal buildings, these institutions can generate additional revenue while playing an exemplary pedagogical role in the energy transition.
Specific advantages:- Daytime consumption synchronized with solar production during school periods
- Significant surpluses during school holidays to redistribute
- Additional revenue to finance pedagogical projects
- Educational value: awareness of students to energy issues
- Community impact: supply to neighborhood families
Rural and Urban Communities
Local authorities have diversified real estate assets (schools, sports centers, administrations) offering numerous opportunities for collective self-consumption. In rural areas, the complementarity between public buildings and retirement homes creates particularly interesting synergies, with stable and predictable consumption profiles throughout the year.
City of Hannut - Smart City Prize 2022
The city of Hannut in Wallonia won the Smart City Prize 2022 for its first REC in Wallonia, developed in partnership with AIS'BAYE and WeSmart.
Concrete results:- 844 residential allocations + 196 tertiary allocations
- 800 kWc of multi-roof photovoltaic capacity
- 70% collective self-consumption achieved
- Fight against energy poverty via social housing
Demonstrates the excellence of the WeSmart model through a mixed community including a significant social component.
More info: https://wesmart.com/communautes/hannut
Sibelgas Groene Energie - Largest Intermunicipal REC in Belgium
This ambitious project covers five municipalities in Flemish Brabant, creating the largest participatory municipal energy community in Belgium.
Concrete results:- 3,000 kWc of distributed photovoltaic capacity
- 180 public buildings equipped (schools, sports centers, administrations)
- 2,850 MWh of annual green energy production
- 550 tons CO2 avoided annually
- 6% return for citizen investors
- €350k raised through crowdfunding
Five municipalities create the largest participatory municipal energy community with successful citizen financing.
More info: https://wesmart.com/communautes/sibelgas
Erezée-Manhay - "Turnkey" Model for Communities
The partnership between communities and care institutions (retirement homes) offers exceptional complementarity: stable 24/7 consumption from care institutions combined with administrative consumption from public buildings. This model optimizes the use of solar production throughout the day and year.
The project developed with Belfius for the municipalities of Erezée and Manhay demonstrates the efficiency of energy communities in rural areas. This initiative integrates municipal installations and retirement homes (Home Philippin), creating a strengthened economic model.
Concrete results:- 8 public producers + 22 consumers
- 255 MWh of annual energy production
- 71% collective self-consumption achieved
- €9,641/year in total community savings
- Complete financing of installations by Belfius
- Integration of retirement homes to improve production/consumption balance
- Significantly improved ROI through diversification of energy profiles
- Optimized Belfius financing for new photovoltaic installations
- Reproducible model for all rural municipalities
Successful demonstrator of the Belfius-WeSmart strategic alliance for public communities.
More info: https://wesmart.com/communautes/erezee-manhay
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WeSmart: Your Partner for the Energy TransitionWith more than 15 operational energy communities, 500+ satisfied participants and a track record of 3+ years of successful operation, WeSmart is the undisputed leader in energy communities in Belgium.
Our unique approach, combining technical expertise, regulatory mastery and continuous innovation, guarantees the success of your energy project. From initial simulation to operational management, WeSmart accompanies you at every step of your transition to shared energy.
Contact us today to discover how your organization can benefit from the advantages of energy communities.More info: https://wesmart.com
