Solar panel generates electricity for SPAR supermarket in Szeged

The SPAR supermarket at “Csillag tér” in Szeged has received more than twenty percent of its energy usage from solar power. By the end of 2021, solar panels have contributed a total of 13 percent of the total consumption of the store. The company is installing renewable energy systems in additional stores in the near future.

 “The strategic goal of SPAR Hungary is to use environmentally-friendly, energy-saving solutions in the construction of its new stores and the modernisation of existing ones. Larger stores will receive an integrated cooling technology system that allows heat from refrigeration equipment and walk-in freezers to be used for heating. In smaller stores, a VRV HVAC system optimises energy consumption. Additionally, low-consumption refrigerators and cooler counters, as well as LED lighting are also used. With these measures we have succeeded in cutting the volume of electricity purchased during the last ten years. As a new element of our environmental policy, we implemented an investment worth of 19 million HUF in solar energy at the Csillag tér supermarket in Szeged – the city of sunshine – in 2020, which satisfied expectations, ”explained Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR Hungary.

The SPAR supermarket, opened initially in 1998, has undergone major modernisation works in 2006 and three years ago as well. The latter development included the installation of new, energy-efficient coolers and the installation of environmentally-friendly cooling and lighting technologies. In 2020, a total of 290 square metres of solar panels were built on top of the Szeged store. The supermarket has been using the benefits of the system since May 2020: in the first year, the share of solar energy exceeded 12 percent of the store’s electricity demand, while by the end of November 2021, the share of solar energy had already exceeded 13 percent.

Record production was achieved by the store in June 2021, when the solar power system contributed 8 707 KWh to the operation of the store. This is 22 percent of the electricity used. Márk Maczelka added that due to the favourable experiences, investments in the use of solar energy will be made at new stores in the near future. A similar development will be first launched at the INTERSPAR hypermarket in Pécs.