In addition to growing wind power, photovoltaics plays a central role in the energy transition.
Munich In the fight against climate change, solar energy should also play a central role in Germany. But there are not many large, well-known providers of photovoltaic solutions. Jonas Holtz wants to change that. He formed the Jes Group from several of his individual companies and proclaimed: “We want to become the clear market leader in photovoltaic installations and the most innovative energy service provider in Germany.”
He has now found a powerful ally for this purpose. According to the Handelsblatt, the C&A owner family Brenninkmeijer is investing in the newly formed Jes Group with a double-digit million investment through their Skopos Impact fund.
“Solar energy is a booming market that will become even more important due to the fight against climate change, rising electricity prices and electromobility,” emphasizes Andreas Ernst, who heads the fund. In the private customer sector in particular, there are great opportunities that we want to take advantage of together with the Jes Group.
Holtz is a pioneer in the industry and has already seen the difficult times that led to the insolvency of Solarworld, among other things. Due to the discontinuation of subsidies and the Chinese competition, the market had partially collapsed. “But it was already clear to me at the time: It couldn’t have been,” recalls Holtz.
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In addition to growing wind power, photovoltaics plays a central role in the energy transition. “In order to cover all of our energy requirements from renewable energies as far as possible, a massive expansion of the installed PV power is necessary,” according to a current Fraunhofer study.
Group starts with sales of more than 50 million euros
Last year, photovoltaics covered a good nine percent of gross electricity consumption in Germany, generating a good 50 terawatt hours. In 2013 it was around five percent. On sunny days, the approximately two million systems can cover more than two thirds of the electricity requirement.
According to a study by Roland Berger, the market is likely to grow by 20 percent per year in the future. “We want to grow faster,” says Holtz.
“Perhaps the corporate structures are simply too rigid to be able to react quickly and flexibly to changes in the market,” says Holtz, referring to traditional electricity producers.
To this end, the entrepreneur is bundling Jes AG and his companies HK Solartec, Solar Express and Holz & Partner in the new umbrella company Jes Group. Apart from the modules that are sourced from China, the Jes Group covers large parts of the value chain itself, right through to civil engineering and scaffolding. The group has a turnover of more than 50 million euros at the start.
So far, Jes has mainly leased the roof areas from commercial property owners and installed photovoltaic systems. On average, customers use around 70 percent of the electricity they generate themselves, the rest is marketed. The company has around 600 commercial customers so far.
Now the private customer business in particular is to be expanded. Jes has installed around 1500 systems here so far, and more than 2000 are to be added in the coming year alone. In addition, the group also wants to offer the integration of charging stations for electric cars in the future, for example.
Jes Group issues a green bond
The growing importance of solar energy is also due to the fact that the prices for photovoltaic modules have fallen continuously in recent years. In the past few years, regulation had temporarily slowed down and pushed ahead at the same time. There is a feed-in tariff for operators. At the same time, however, there are also restrictions – for example, the size of the systems is limited.
A special feature of solar power: it is mainly generated by private individuals, farmers and commercial enterprises. Traditional electricity producers were reluctant to invest in photovoltaics for a long time. One of the reasons for this is that the electricity production costs have long been higher than for other renewable energies. “Perhaps the corporate structures are simply too rigid to be able to react quickly and flexibly to changes in the market,” says Holtz.
The Skopos Impact Fund has more than 200 million euros available. According to the company, these are to be invested exclusively in established technology and service companies that pursue sustainability, for example in the energy sector, and strive for disproportionately strong growth. “We support entrepreneurs who have a vision and in whom we believe,” says Ernst, explaining the investment at the Jes Group. It is also convincing that the group covers large parts of the value chain. “The time factor is decisive.” It helps, for example, if you don’t have to wait weeks for a scaffolder.
In order to finance further growth, the Jes Group is also issuing a green bond. The ten million euro bond has an interest rate of five percent. This is also intended for those who want to get involved in solar energy but do not have their own roof, says Holtz.
More: Why RWE earns from rising CO2 prices.
