Munich Startup: Solation enables tenants to get electricity directly from their own roof – how exactly does that work?
Sebastian Hugl, Solation: A good example for this is our current installation in Munich city center. A long-established family business with several rental properties has commissioned us to provide its tenants with affordable solar power. For this, we use Solation Energy. The electricity produced on the roof of the building can be used directly by the residents. Each tenant automatically has the app and can see live in real time how much energy they are currently using that is produced on site. The residents then have one more reason to be happy about the high number of hours of sunshine in Munich, because that means cheap green electricity for them.
The landlords have nothing to do with the issue, but are provided with the values for the electricity bill at the end of the year. This is done via the utility bill and is integrated into this process. By selling the electricity to the landlord, the installation is gradually amortized. A win-win for both sides.
Munich Startup: This also gives the topic of tenant electricity a social component – for subsidized housing, for example. Are you already experiencing interest from the providers? Are you approaching them directly?
Sebastian Hugl: Yes, we are already experiencing initial interest from social institutions and are discussing the first projects in this area. I am delighted that we are well on the way to making green electricity available to financially weaker sections of the population and thus bucking the trend in the renewable energy sector.
That’s why tenant electricity simply makes so much sense: financially disadvantaged people can become less dependent on the big energy companies and save money at the same time.
“It makes a huge difference for families, pensioners and students with limited financial resources”
In Germany, an average of eight percent of a household’s income is spent on energy and electricity costs. With 3,500 kWh of electricity consumption per year, a household without solar power pays around 1,141 euros. With Solation Energy, the costs could fall to between 770 and 875 euros. This makes a huge difference, especially for families, pensioners or students with limited financial resources. I can still remember how important it was to keep utility costs low in our student apartment.
Munich Startup: Do you see any other opportunities to create social impact?
Sebastian Hugl: Yes, we see several approaches and have been researching how we can make electricity donable for some time. It’s technically simple, but super complicated in regulatory terms – tax law meets energy law. All very fun topics.
Currently, the biggest social lever is that our business model allows us to provide tenants with up to 30 percent cheaper electricity in the long term and the landlords still get a good return. So this is one of the few situations where there is a real intersection between ecology, economy and social issues. At the end of the day, it must be possible to earn money with it, otherwise nothing will move and the impact will always be limited.
Munich Startup: What prompted you to take this path?
Sebastian Hugl: Our drive is to make green electricity possible for everyone – including tenants. We have set ourselves the ambitious goal of supplying one million tenants in Germany with green electricity that is produced locally by 2030. The emissions saved are roughly equivalent to those of 400,000 cars!
The supply of electricity from landlords to tenants has only been possible since the adoption of Solar Package 1, without landlords having to act as energy suppliers. The new legislation makes it much easier.
Solation puts its employees at the center
Munich Startup: And what about Solation itself?
Sebastian Hugl: Basically, with Solation we pursue a corporate management approach that puts our employees at the center. I believe that companies are there for people and not the other way around. That’s why we at Solation have introduced a number of measures to make us a healthy and fair workplace. I’ve already written a lot about this on LinkedIn, which you can read and comment on here. But in short: our employees are people, not cogwheels – and we want to respect that.
Munich Startup: What are your next steps for even more social impact?
Sebastian Hugl: We hope that, as pioneers, we will be able to supply a large number of tenants with green and affordable electricity in the future, so that access is not just reserved for wealthy homeowners. This will not only help the tenants, but also the environment, of course.
