diff --git a/bin/export_atlas_ebeye_xml.pl b/bin/export_atlas_ebeye_xml.pl
index 16024c8..b66392c 100755
--- a/bin/export_atlas_ebeye_xml.pl
+++ b/bin/export_atlas_ebeye_xml.pl
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@ sub check_env_var {
 check_env_var('BIOENTITY_PROPERTIES_WBPS',"\$ATLAS_PROD/bioentity_properties/annotations/wbps");
 check_env_var('SOLR_HOST',"should include both host and port if needed.");
 check_env_var('WEB_API_URL',"should include api url.");
+check_env_var('SOLR_USER');
+check_env_var('SOLR_PASS');
 
 my $atlasProdDir = $ENV{ "ATLAS_PROD" };
 my $bioentity_properties_annotations_ensembl=$ENV{'BIOENTITY_PROPERTIES_ENSEMBL'};
@@ -207,6 +209,11 @@ sub get_data_from_solr_db {
   return ($H_geneIDs2expts2contrasts, $H_geneIDs2expts2assayGroups);
 }
 
+sub LWP::UserAgent::get_basic_credentials {
+    my ($self, $realm, $url, $isproxy) = @_;
+
+    return $ENV{'SOLR_USER'}, $ENV{'SOLR_PASS'};
+}
 
 ## parse json formatted result for genes associated to experiments accessions and assay group ids.
 sub parse_json_from_solr {