Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions for the energy sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising community solar solutions.
Heat Map: 5 Top Community Solar Solutions
Using our StartUs Insights Platform, covering 1.116.000+ startups & emerging companies, we looked at innovation in the field of solar energy. For this research, we identified 136 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and technology among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & emerging companies developing innovative community solar solutions. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 136 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
Neighborhood Sun – Turn-Key Community Solar
Community solar refers to a model of solar energy production wherein a group of subscribers share a common solar facility. It allows members of a community to share the benefits of solar energy, even if they lack solar panels on their properties. The model helps expand renewable energy to more people, leading to a significant reduction in the community’s carbon footprint.
The US-based clean energy startup Neighborhood Sun provides community solar solutions. The startup offers a variety of options for contract length, energy price, and solar project locations. Consumers sign up with an online portal to reserve their share of solar energy from a project located within their utility territory. Their existing utility company delivers electricity, but it is both cheaper and cleaner.
Allume Energy – Solar For Apartments
Energy consumers living in standalone houses have the option to install rooftop solar panels. On the contrary, people living in apartments, condominiums, or other multi-tenant buildings lack the space to install solar panels. Community solar solutions distribute the ownership of rooftop panels and facilitate solar for apartments.
Australian startup Allume Energy brings the benefits of solar energy to apartments, businesses, and other multi-metered buildings. SolShare, the startup’s solar device, shares rooftop solar between apartments. This energy is available either on upfront payment or tariffs depending on solar energy usage. The solution reduces the carbon footprint of the buildings and enhances the market value of apartments.
Common Energy – Clean Energy Credits
Community solar uses the existing utility grids to deliver clean energy to more people. The net electricity produced is cheaper than the power from the grid. In cities with virtual net metering (VNM), the share of the energy produced is accounted for as clean energy credits to each subscriber.
The US-based startup Common Energy enables homeowners and businesses to tap into community solar and earn clean energy credits. Consumers connect their utility account information with a community solar project. Renewable energy gets first priority in the grid which also leads to a reduction in carbon footprint and lowers electricity bills.
Sharenergy – Zero Investment Solar
In addition to the lack of space for solar panels, the upfront investment needed also deters many users from solar energy. Community solar solutions either offer part ownership of solar projects or subscription-based models. This makes community solar highly affordable, as well as zero investment in some solutions.
Brazilian startup Sharenergy provides access to renewable energy to users who lack the space or money to afford it. The startup’s solution does not need any initial investment and is free of unexpected tariff increases. Moreover, the solution enables savings from the first month.
Younergy – Distributed Energy Utility
Community solar shows promise to provide solar energy for anyone who wants it, in turn, making the entire grid more robust and distributed. While community solar combines behind-the-meter and utility-scale solar, it needs new financing models. For instance, contracting solutions allow energy customers to save money and reduce their carbon footprint.
Swiss startup Younergy builds solutions for distributed energy utility. The startup takes care of all steps needed to bring community solar to a building, including permissions, supply, installation, and financing. Younergy bills its customers for solar energy production and maintains and operates the system throughout the contract period. By creating energy-saving opportunities for tenants, the startup’s solutions also boost the property values of the buildings.
What About The Other 131 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence so you can achieve your goals faster. The 5 community solar solutions showcased above are promising examples out of 136 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
