Atterbury Europe recently signed a contract with a solar farm to provide power to the Mall of Cyprus. Asset manager Vlad Valcea gives the background.

Why was this decision taken? What is the bigger “green” plan?
Last year Europe experienced a serious electricity crisis with a massive price increase, and as a result we decided to look for alternative and cost-effective solutions to ease the price shock for our tenants and relieve their costs of occupancy. Fortunately in Cyprus, such a solution became available last year, in which the mall can sign directly with “green energy” producers and benefit from lower prices than that of conventional energy suppliers. The resulting electricity price discounts are being passed on to the tenants.

How much can you share about the deal?
This contract is for the entire mall, and we have fully replaced the regular, conventional electricity supplier with an alternative, “green” supplier. I can’t disclose the commercial terms, but we believe it’s a substantial investment in the current macroeconomic environment and it will still provide cost reductions for our tenants.

Is this solution only available in Cyprus, and has there been growing uptake?
So far we don’t have this option available in Romania or Serbia, and as mentioned it is very new to Cyprus. Fortunately in this case, malls are considered very large commercial consumers and therefore we were able to raise our hands for it immediately. The available solar farms were oversubscribed very soon after this solution became commercially available last summer, and I’m convinced that many other similar projects are being built as we speak, since the demand from other businesses is undoubtedly high.

What can you share about the company you contracted to deliver the service?
It’s one of the major players on the market and with one of the most competitive price schemes available thus far.

How will this conversion impact shoppers at Mall of Cyprus?
First of all, it is going to be very beneficial to our tenants’ profitability. This in turn will allow shop owners to continue focusing on their day-to-day business of making sure they have the right products and ample stock to satisfy the shoppers’ needs and service-level expectations. Everyone wins!

Do you have any plans to roll this out to other assets across Atterbury Europe’s territory?
Indeed, we are already looking at similar ways to equip our malls in Romania and Serbia.