Solocal Energy advertises electricity from the balcony

The topic of photovoltaics currently has great potential. After all, the new federal government writes in its coalition agreement: “All suitable roof surfaces should be used for solar energy in the future.”

And the current record electricity prices are doing the rest: Just recently, the sales director of the energy supplier MVV Energie stated that for many companies, producing their own photovoltaics is currently cheaper than electricity from the socket.

At Solocal Energy, the electricity price effect is yet to come, because many suppliers buy electricity years in advance and have been able to keep the prices for their customers reasonably stable so far. But the idea of ​​producing your own solar power still works. “We’ve grown again as a team because there are an incredible number of people who are beating us up,” says Jasper.

“Grown again” means: from three to four. Solocal Energy is not a start-up with world-conquest fantasies. The founders plan to have just ten to twenty employees by 2026. Above all, the idea should grow here, and in an unconventional way. “We are connected to other solar DIY initiatives,” says Jasper. “We pass resources and contacts on to each other. This approach of cooperation instead of competition is very formative.”

Customers can choose the price

Solocal Energy has already generated six-figure sales this year – after all, the founders are filling something of a market niche with their concept. They help all those who want to contribute to the energy transition but cannot easily do so for a variety of reasons with their own solar system.

If you live for rent and don’t have your own roof, you can use so-called balcony power plants. These are one or two individual solar modules, in contrast to large solar systems, they are ready for connection. This means that even non-professionals can connect them to the household electricity. They can be mounted on the balcony, but also in the garage, in the garden or on the wall of the house.

Solocal Energy sells the modules including advice and – if desired – installation. Customers can choose whether to pay the reduced price, which only earns the founders minimum wage, the normal price, or a solo price. The complete package with installation usually costs 1100 euros, reduced it is 900 euros and with a surcharge 1300 euros. The Solocal team then takes care of everything that comes up: procurement of materials, technical hurdles, communication with the landlords.

At the same time, the founders also want to remove obstacles for homeowners. That’s why they bring six parties together in the do-it-yourself communities who want to install solar systems on their roofs. They then take care of the organisation, financing and the construction of the systems together. The advantage: More profitable projects also finance less profitable ones. And since homeowners install the system themselves, they save money overall, too.

“First and foremost, we see ourselves as initial consultants”

The three founders, who are in their late 20s, help with their expertise. Kerstin Lopau and Benedikt Breuer are qualified engineers, Arvid Jasper has completed further training as an electrical specialist. Solocal Energy is a registered craft business.

“First and foremost, we see ourselves as initial consultants,” says Jasper. “We look at what kind of energy innovation makes sense for people.” The consultations, like the neighborhood groups, are an important marketing factor for the founders, who don’t advertise Solocal in any way. First of all, however, they do not ask for payment for the consultation. “We are not here to make money, but to tackle the energy transition,” explains Jasper.

But can this really work? With a maximum output of 600 watts, the balcony solar systems in particular do not produce nearly enough electricity to cover the annual needs of a single person. According to the consumer center energy advice, they are financially worthwhile in the long term – and all the more so when the price of electricity rises. But do they also make a significant contribution to the energy transition?

The energy expert Hermann Laukamp from the Fraunhofer Institute ISE examined the potential of balcony power plants in a study. He comes to the conclusion: “With a high penetration of around one tenth of the housing stock, the maximum share of current German electricity consumption is one percent.”

Extrapolated this means that if all apartments in Germany were equipped with mini solar systems, the modules could cover ten percent of Germany’s electricity requirements – after all, almost as much as came from nuclear power in 2021.

Of course, such a quota is a long way off – even if the number of balcony power plants installed in Germany, according to estimates by industry experts such as the German Society for Solar Energy, could be more than four times as high as the 25,000 systems officially recorded in the market master data register. Nevertheless, Laukamp thinks the approach makes sense: “Psychologically, balcony solar modules should not be underestimated, since tenants can also actively contribute to the energy transition,” he says.

Solocal founder Jasper observes a similar effect in self-build communities. “Many projects fail because people lack the motivation to implement their plans,” he says. His hope: that the new traffic light government will remove bureaucratic hurdles and thus advance the citizens’ energy transition.

More: “We’re being overrun”: These start-ups will soon be offering CO2 reduction bonuses to e-car owners.