Close-up

Members of the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing visited the Vlaamse Media Maatschappij (VMM) in Brussels, Belgium, in October. The building houses several television and radio stations owned by VMM and features a crystalline photovoltaic (PV) array over a DERBIBRITE® roof system manufactured by Derbigum, Brussels. The 287-kWp system was installed in 2007 and is one of the largest PV projects in Brussels.

An incentive provided by the Belgium government allows building owners to receive 45 Eurocents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) produced by a PV installation for a period of 20 years. The 287-kWp system is producing about 900 kWh per year. The roof system consists of 7 inches of polyisocyanurate, one layer of DERBIBASE® ULTRA and one DERBIBRITE cap sheet fully adhered in PERMASTIC® cold adhesive over a concrete deck; it is meant to decrease the surface temperature and reduce the building's energy needs.

The next phase of the project includes an additional 80 kWp of DERBISOLAR® amorphous thin film panels adhered to a proprietary white-surfaced membrane using DERBIBRITE technology.

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