ASTER Project Summary

ASTER (‘Access to Sustainability Through Energy Effective Retrofit’) is an initiative of the Association of Flemish Social Housing Companies (VVH), and her member social housing companies.

ASTER is a special purpose company which brings together public and private actors to provide a sustainable solution to the implementation of sustainability investment programmes (integration of renewables and energy efficiency) in the social housing stock in the Flanders region.

ASTER has been brought to life with grant financing under the European Commission’s ‘European Local Energy Assistance’ (ELENA) programme. ELENA forms part of Horizon 2020 and is managed by the European Investment Bank’s ELENA team.

ELENA enables VVH to bring together the expertise and employees needed to develop partnerships and set up ASTER’s first investment programme: the integration of approximately 40 MW capacity of solar panels into the social housing stock in the Flanders region. 

The solar panel investment programme aims to provide approximately 20.000 homes with access to the benefits of renewable energy. Each household will receive a healthy saving on their energy bill, helping to alleviate energy poverty, as well as saving up to 10.000 tonnes per year in carbon emissions.