SOLY: Solar Energy for Everyone – It’s Possible

The Netherlands plays an important role as a hub for global energy trading. A European centre of innovation, the country has set ambitious plans for its own transition, aiming for 100% of electricity to be sourced from renewables supplies by 2050. But today, even with the best intentions, the country faces major challenges. A result of the Russians invasion in Ukraine is that the Netherlands will provide exemptions for export credits for fossil fuel energy projects, something which would have otherwise stopped by the end of this year. The Netherlands energy mix remains heavily bogged in fossil fuels. According to the IEA, key energy sources for the country over the past decade are natural gas, oil, and coal, with nuclear, biofuel and waste, and renewables like wind and solar making up a negligible percentage of total consumption. It’s an inconvenient truth that must be addressed.

Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, said at the recent COP27 summit that the private sector has a significant role to play in the country’s energy transition. Milan van der Meulen, Founder at enie.nl – the Groningen-based certified B-Corp solar energy specialist – agrees and is doing everything possible to encourage uptake in the renewables space.

The concept behind his business, established with brother Patrick in 2012, was the painful concept presented in the 2006 documentary film An Inconvenient Truth.

“When I was 13, Patrick was 16, our father almost forced us to watch this documentary about global warming,” van der Meulen tells Energy Focus. “We watched it several times and we became a bit intoxicated with talk of climate change. We knew then that we would have to start careers in the industry of sustainability or renewable energy.”

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Committed to finding solutions, the brothers quickly settled on solar as a problem solver. Quick to roll out, using affordable and established technology, and implementable for individuals, solar was the obvious choice for rapid impact.

“Creating large solar or wind parks, you have to rely on other parties, but putting solar panels on your home is something you can make happen alone,” smiles van der Meulen.

Importantly, the young business took a digital-first strategy allowing potential customers to communicate and organise online, streamlining interaction. “We were young and digital-minded. We quickly gained a scalable position, and we grew fast.”

Equally as crucial in the company’s speedy expansion was choosing reliable partners and technology suppliers. This enabled enie.nl to offer residential customers a new solar installation alongside a full guarantee, protecting them from financial shock.

“If the system failed to deliver the amount of power that we expect, then we would compensate. Consumers were completely safe on their investment, and that was how we differentiated ourselves. We were also the first company in the Netherlands to offer a rental or lease product to the Dutch consumer. In the current time, that is very important with people paying big money for electricity. Now, they can switch to solar and pay a monthly fee that is much lower and the rental proposition has become very big.”

SOLAR CARPORT

Because of the innovation and dedication to change displayed within the company, growth over the past decade has been substantial. Today, the company is home to more than 100 employees and oversees operations across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany (Q1 2023), South Africa, with an appetite for expansion into new geographies. Both residential and B2B markets are serviced, and the early ambition of the business remains at the heart of everything that happens. Making solar energy available to everyone is the single focus for enie.nl, and van der Meulen explains about an exciting new product that will further the company’s healthy ambition.

“In the B2B space, we are active with SMEs and we have a very good solar carport product, the ZonneCarport. Many big solar companies are building large installations on rooftops, but we have many car parking spaces that are not being utilised. We came up with a solar carport product that can be used to charge EVs. That is a product that is new for us and we are proud of,” he says.

“We encountered a company that wanted to produce solar energy but the rooftop was not ideal to carry the weight. They had a large parking lot and we tried to use that as a solution. We partnered with engineers to develop the product, it’s very implementable right now and we have a number of projects underway.”

Solar installations need space, but the Netherlands is a small country with much of the urban space already taken. However, taking the ‘it’s possible’ approach to every challenge, enie.nl optimises space with energy producing assets. Construction is movable, flexible, and tailored to specific energy requirements. It keeps EVs charged and shaded, and people dry.

“We were focused on creating a solution for open parking spaces where there are only cars. We wanted to cover with solar panels and we developed our carport to do so. In hotels or similar spaces, there are large car parks that are not utilised and our carport allows for guests to charge their EV while keeping out of the rain.”

In the Netherlands, enie.nl has built a partnership project with the Westerkwartier municipality where surplus energy produced from a solar carport in Zuidhorn, at the rear of the town hall, is supplied directly into households. The project is home to 1121 solar panels with a capacity of 521 kWp. “It’s a new way to find spaces for the production of solar energy,” adds van der Meulen.

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

The ZonneCarport is just one aspect of a significant development journey that the company is on. Westerkwartier municipality is already considering the next site for carport rollout, and residential installations continue to boom in popularity. For enie.nl, recent investment combined with its mission-driven nature is encouraging year-on-year growth.

“Right now, our growth is exponential. In the second half of this year, we have seen a strong growth curve and we expect next year to experience the biggest growth we have seen as a company so far,” says van der Meulen.

“We have around 22,000 households that have switched to receive their energy from us. This year, Shell Ventures together with the largest pension fund in the Netherlands, ABP, partnered with our company. That really helps us to enter new markets and there is a big expansion strategy underway. Each week we are increasing the number of installations and we are growing rapidly.

“We have a complete digital and self-service customer journey. From start to finish, the homeowner does everything online and there is no physical interaction apart from the installation. It’s a very efficient model,” he adds.

To achieve such success in a turbulent commercial environment, against the backdrop of economic slowdown and war in Europe, demonstrates the strength at the core of enie.nl. Even through 2020 and 2021, where many companies struggled with balancing cost and income, enie.nl pushed forward, sticking to its purpose of switching to nature as an energy source, and trusting the sun – our largest energy supplier.

“We had some Covid problems,” admits van der Meulen. “It did not impact our direct operations but it did create obstacles in the supply chain. You must be innovative to come up with solutions. Because of the amount that we install, we tend to see manufacturers prioritising us and that allows us to keep going. Smaller installers are often left out by manufacturers, and that is a problem. We had to manoeuvre through these challenges but we are now reasonably secure in our supply chain.”

When difficulties around sourcing a unique inverter component came up, enie.nl took a pragmatic position and did not delay. It quickly scoured the industry and negotiated with a new supplier that had available stock before sending a truck to Poland to collect. “You have to be smart,” smiles van der Meulen.

Covid challenges aside, this bright and innovative organisation is doing all the right things. Investing in the energy transition, helping others to do the same, providing innovative funding and interaction models, and committing to sustainability through B Corp accreditation, there is an open market ahead of enie.nl.

“We have experienced so much organic growth and we saw such a big increase in demand recently,” says van der Meulen. “The demand is much bigger that what can currently be delivered, and that increases delivery time for the end customer.

“Internally, we are exploring other European markets where we do not see this model a lot, and we are looking at growing further in the markets where we are already present.”

Clearly, enie.nl is answering the call for private sector involvement in the Dutch energy transition. Actively looking to drive impact, the future is sunny for Milan van der Meulen and team. In 2021 alone, the company avoided 66 million kg of CO₂ being released into the atmosphere through the installation of 32,500 solar panels. Van der Meulen hopes to roll out the ZonneCarport at scale, and is on the hunt for opportunities.

“Our carport product is unique and we are looking for companies that find it attractive so that we can build new partnerships,” he concludes.