Budapest’s largest solar park has been built on a rooftop

It could yield interesting results if the roofs of the capital’s larger residential buildings were covered with solar parks: one thing is certain – there is significant untapped potential in these areas. The topic has been brought to the fore by a recent announcement from Gránit Pólus Csoport, which states that a 6,500-square-metre solar park was commissioned on the roof of the Westend on 30 June.

A comprehensive, multi-year development programme has been carried out

This has created Budapest’s largest solar park, which, together with green electricity from external sources, provides more than 17.5 GWh of renewable energy annually to power the shopping centre. As a result, 80 per cent of the electricity used by Westend now comes from renewable sources.

The project was carried out as part of a comprehensive, multi-year development programme, during which

• the heating and cooling systems have been modernised,
• new boilers, lifts and LED lighting have been installed,
• the building services systems were upgraded,
• and introduced a building monitoring system based on artificial intelligence.

What does ‘data-driven system’ mean?

The data-driven system monitors, in real time, the building’s energy requirements, the indoor temperature and weather conditions, the number of visitors, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration, amongst other factors, and then optimises its operation on the basis of this data.

State-of-the-art mechanical engineering and smart solutions have collectively reduced energy consumption by 15–30 per cent annually. As a result of these improvements, the shopping centre has achieved an „A+” energy rating, whilst the adjacent Crowne Plaza Budapest Hotel and the Westend Office Building have achieved an „A” rating.

Rainwater is utilised locally

One of the most striking elements of the change in operating model is the regeneration of Westend’s 1.5-hectare roof garden. One of Budapest’s largest publicly accessible roof gardens is home to several hundred plants, and its area is set to be expanded by nearly 1,000 square metres of green space with greater biodiversity. The garden will be gradually transformed this year with biodiverse and pollinator-friendly plant communities that are adapted to the changing urban climate.

Solutions based on the ‘sponge city’ concept help to retain and utilise rainwater locally, reduce water consumption, improve the microclimate and help to mitigate the urban heat island effect.

They also highlight that Westend was the first commercial property in Hungary to sign a direct electricity purchase agreement with the country’s most technologically advanced solar power plant, which has been meeting two-thirds of the complex’s energy needs from renewable sources since 2024. This is complemented by the solar farm that has just been commissioned.