In 2017 the partners – Stadtwerke Bitterfeld-Wolfen, the ISM Group and Hanwha Q CELLS – set up the first tenant energy plants on residential properties belonging to the Wolfen Housing Association in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. ISM Energy (an affiliate of ISM Group) planned and built the systems, Stadtwerke Bitterfeld-Wolfen owns and operates them, and Hanwha Q CELLS delivered its high-power solar modules. The tenants are supplied with both the solar electricity and residual electricity from the grid operated by Stadtwerke Bitterfeld-Wolfen. The solar power systems have a total capacity of 110 kW and are equipped with 394 Q CELLS Q.PLUS-G4 solar modules, each with 280 Wp and Q.ANTUM technology. The systems will produce around 107,000 kWh of clean solar power per annum and supply 48 households with cheap solar energy.
Tenant Energy: A Budding Solar Business Model in Germany
Tenant energy combines locally produced direct solar power and grid power into an electricity package for private and business end users in Germany. Unlike for supply solely via the grid, no energy tax and other fees associated with use of the municipal power grid have to be paid for the directly produced and consumed solar energy. Additionally, the system operator receives a grant for the direct energy sold. As a result, the electricity is offered to the tenants at a considerably lower price than that for the basic supply, and it is therefore economically advantageous for home-owners and tenants, as well as the energy provider.
Stadtwerke Bitterfeld-Wolfen was apprised to identify the opportunity of tenant energy and had already started to develop its own tenant energy scheme even before the new Tenant Energy Act (Mieterstromgesetz) came into force in July 2017. Tenant energy helps strengthen local economic cycles, increases local value creation and yields positive effects for the region. This is why the three high-performing partners, Stadtwerke Bitterfeld-Wolfen, the ISM Group and Hanwha Q CELLS, came together in Bitterfeld-Wolfen in order to implement the joint tenant energy projects in the region. The high quality-related expectations of the three partners and the successful collaboration on the first three projects will be the basis for future collaboration. In 2018, the partners will collaborate to equip other housing associations in the region with solar energy systems. Tenant energy systems are also planned for new builds.
Sabine Barth, Board Member of the Wolfen Housing Association, said, “We are delighted to be able to offer our tenants low energy costs through collaboration with strong partners from the region. In addition to boosting our image, the solar energy systems have increased the value of our properties and made them particularly attractive to future tenants thanks to the lower energy costs.”
Christian Dubiel, Managing Director at Stadtwerke Bitterfeld-Wolfen, said, “For the municipal utility, this has opened up new, attractive business areas in the field of energy services – not to mention increasing customer loyalty through the contractual relationship with the tenants. We can also see significant potential in linking sectors in the fields of electricity, heating, and electrical mobility.”
Tobias Schmidt, CEO of ISM Group said, “For the ISM Group, tenant energy is a significant growth area. Together with our regional partners, ISM will provide thousands of tenants in our region with access to cheap and environmentally-friendly solar energy in the coming years.”
Mario Schulte, Account Manager at Hanwha Q CELLS, added, “We are delighted that our solar modules are finally making environmentally-friendly and cheap solar energy available to tenants in our region and in Germany. The high performance and energy yield from Q CELLS solar modules thus play a crucial role in obtaining the maximum yield from the available roof space. We are looking forward to more tenant energy projects in the next year.”
BACKGROUND
Solar Tenant Energy – A Win for Everyone
Around half of Germany’s population lives in rented properties. Thanks to the Tenant Energy Act (Mieterstromgesetz) which came into force in July 2017, tenants can now also enjoy the benefits of the energy revolution. In tenant energy schemes, electricity from the solar energy system generated directly on site is supplied directly to tenants and thus consumed locally. The solar energy is significantly cheaper than grid power because it does not involve any network fees, taxes, or charges. Grants for every kilowatt hour of tenant energy are also available as the so-called “tenant energy supplement.” The residual energy requirement is covered by the public utilities company via the municipal grid; conversely, any excess energy is fed into the grid and offset at the EEC feed-in rate. Direct participation in the energy revolution also increases acceptance of renewable energies in broader swathes of the population.
Benefits for House Owners
– Reduced electricity costs for tenants
– Reduced ancillary costs
– Increased demand for property
– Increased long-term property value
– Sustainable image
– Leasing income from the roof
Benefits for Tenants
– Immediately reduced electricity costs
– Increased protection against future energy price increases
– Active contribution to climate protection
Benefits for Energy Providers
– Increased business advantages, with a concurrently improvement in brand image
– Utilization of a solid customer loyalty tool
– Coverage of the residual energy needed
– Attractive value creation and returns from a revolutionary energy product
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.