meeco ultralight sun2roof® system for limited-load roofs
There are about 1,500 breweries in Germany, and 90% of them are still family-owned breweries. Like the privately-owned Jacob Stauder brewery in Essen, which is steadily growing in production but is now also facing the challenge of huge increases in energy costs. The partnership with meeco stems from Stauder Brewery’s desire to brew beer on solar power and independently generate, in the long term, more than 25% of the energy needed for the seven-day-a-week active production, with an eye on the environment and sustainability.
The load limitation of flat roofs
“One of the first problems, that had to be considered and solved,” says Gregor M. Steinborn, PV expert at meeco Industrial Services, the German subsidiary of The meeco Group, ”was the load limitations of the flat roofs of the brewery buildings.” This meant that a system with standard PV modules could not be installed because it was too heavy. This is precisely where the technical knowledge and skills of meeco experts comes in. To allow Stauder Brewery to brew beer on solar power without exceeding the roof load, it was proposed to use the oursun® Ultralight PV modules with about 70% less weight than standard ones but with the same performance.
The first pilot system
The first 99.7kWp sun2roof® system, consisting of 232 oursun® Ultralight modules with 430 watts of power, was installed on the first roof of the brewery in 2023 and bonded to a lightweight, flat substructure of just 2 cm for better rear ventilation and thus even more power. Commissioned in fall 2023, it now successfully produces 80.5MWh/year of electricity, allowing Stauder to brew beer on solar power while saving annually approx. 24.2 tons of CO2.
New sun2roof® system on Stauder Private Brewery roofs
Following this first PV solution, a new sun2roof® system with 255.43kWp, consisting of 592 oursun® Ultralight modules, was recently installed on other brewery buildings. The system, which was fixed on trapezoidal sheet metal and bitumen-covered flat roofs, was commissioned in late summer 2024 – around one year after the previous one. The new PV system will annually produce 216MWh, supporting Stauder’s goal to brew even more beer on solar power and protect the environment by saving more than 64 tons of CO2 per year.
Beer on solar power: meeco sustainable and cost-effective solutions
“Thanks to the sun2roof® PV solutions made by meeco with ultralight modules, we can continue to pursue our goal of using as much sustainable energy as possible by producing it ourselves. We received open and excellent advice and were involved in every step of the process. This and the competent all-round management, from the first meeting to the installation of the two plants, convinced us to give total confidence, consolidate the partnership with meeco, and consider further projects,” says brewery CEO and owner Dr. Eng. Axel Stauder.
For more information see www.meeco.net and www.industrialclimbing.net or email info@meeco.net
