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Navigating Energy Regulations: Insights from Kahya Engler at Sunrock

Navigating Regulations

GRESB, NECP, EPBD… Owners of large commercial properties face numerous new regulations and agencies measuring sustainability performance to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. At Sunrock, we offer our knowledge and expertise to help shape decisions for future ambitions. Kahya Engler, Technical Lead M&A and Strategy at Sunrock, emphasises how crucial knowledge of the subject is: “Policy can be the driving force or the downfall of a company. It’s a strange paradox.”

The Importance of Collaboration

“Sunrock’s strategy department must constantly anticipate changes in regulations,” Kahya explains. In the Netherlands, Sunrock is an active member of Holland Solar. They provide strong support in political networking, visibility, and staying up-to-date with quality and safety standards in the industry. “This way, our clients receive all the important information.” Kahya Engler believes the energy transition can only succeed through collaboration, even within the sector itself. 

“You need to be able to rise above your own interests for the common good and talk to competitors to really move forward. At SolarPower Europe, the trade association for the European solar power sector, of which Sunrock is also a member, we exchange industry information and jointly lobby for topics that support our mission to provide our clients with clean energy. We discuss the future of the flexible energy market and what’s needed, such as the development of energy hubs.”

The Starting Point

What can energy-intensive companies do to make their production processes more sustainable? Making large-scale energy projects manageable through standardisation and understanding regulations is crucial. According to Kahya, more than 10,000 companies in the Netherlands are waiting for an upgrade to their electricity connection. “Support from Sunrock’s Next Energy Solutions provides these companies a huge opportunity to optimise energy use behind the meter. That means energy consumption within a company before it is passed on to the network. This is especially important for both industrial companies with high energy intensity and logistics real estate where a significant increase in energy consumption is expected due to the expansion of electric transport.”

“We help them not only to generate energy but also to manage their energy consumption smartly. This ensures continuity of daily operations. We look at flexible solutions for companies to be effective in their energy consumption in the future. This way, they can operate within the available grid capacity, even if electrification increases. When you use the energy you generate, for example with solar panels, directly in production, it also counts as energy saving according to the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP).”

The Real Energy Balance

Industry and government must work together to remain forward-looking and create room for solutions. This remains a combination of decentralised and centralised energy policies to continue encouraging companies to invest in sustainable energy. Kahya stresses that standardisation of policy is truly needed in this context. “It requires both technical and legal consistency so that both small and large companies can participate equally.” 

According to Kahya, this is necessary to properly establish energy hubs, where multiple companies share their energy supply. She cites Canada as an example, where national EPC contract standards significantly improved project efficiency. “Once you have a certain degree of standardisation, your supply chain is also simpler. Once you have an easy supply chain, you have more time to make the processes transparent. Then the circle is complete.”

Want to know more about the strategic approach to your energy policy? Contact the team at Sunrock’s Next Energy Solutions. Merel Osinga: m.osinga@sunrock.com

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