Tenant electricity on the rise: Cooperatives across Germany rely on Solarimo

Berlin - The photovoltaic service provider Solarimo, a subsidiary of ENGIE Deutschland based in Berlin, convinced three cooperatives at different locations of its expertise and services in the summer of 2023. Daniel Budisky, Key Account Manager at Solarimo, says: "Tenant electricity is on the rise and is not only interesting for new buildings where there is a legal obligation for sustainable supply. Tenant electricity is also suitable for existing buildings whose owners and tenants want to tackle the issue of sustainability together and make a contribution to achieving climate protection targets. At Solarimo, we support our customers on this path." Solarimo covers a third of its electricity requirements via the photovoltaic systems installed on the roof. The remaining requirement is covered entirely by green electricity with an eco-label, which the company purchases and certifies. This guarantees that the tenants actually receive 100 percent green electricity. Solarimo always offers the cleanest and cheapest local green tariff, giving tenants the security of actively participating in the urban energy transition.

Mastering the urban energy transition with Solarimo

This concept has now won over three housing cooperatives: Solarimo is currently installing seven photovoltaic systems on the flat and pitched roofs of nine existing buildings with a total of 560 residential units for Malchiner Wohnungs-Genossenschaft eG in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Due to their size, these are ideally suited for generating electricity from solar energy, but it has not been possible for the small cooperative to install them on its own until now. Thanks to the partnership with Solarimo, the photovoltaic systems will in future generate a solar output of 596 kilowatt peak and 561 megawatt hours of electricity per year - saving around 350 tons of CO2 emissions compared to fossil fuels. In Altenburg, Thuringia, Solarimo plans, finances, builds and operates 228 solar modules on a building with 100 residential units for AWG Wohnungsgenossenschaft eG Altenburg, with a solar output of 93 kilowatt peak and 87 megawatt hours of electricity per year. This saves 54.6 tons of CO2 per year compared to fossil fuels - and the building's degree of self sufficiency reaches 35 percent. In this way, the cooperative is helping to ease the financial burden on tenants, who are facing ever-increasing ancillary costs as a result of the energy price crisis. As the roof areas are used to generate electricity, the energy transition also prevents other open spaces, such as farmland, from being taken away - an aspect that is particularly important to the cooperative. Solarimo also saves around 178 tons of CO2 for Wohnungsgenossenschaft Gräfenhainichen eG in Saxony-Anhalt: A total of seven photovoltaic systems are used on the flat and pitched roofs of the five buildings there. This will provide the cooperative members in the 250 residential units with a solar output of 324 kilowatt peak and 284.5 megawatt hours of electricity per year. In this way, the cooperative protects its tenants against further increases in electricity prices in challenging times - and is therefore planning to connect further properties in the future. Solarimo plans, finances, builds and operates the systems for all three projects and covers the tenants' needs entirely with green electricity. Daniel Budisky knows:

"For cooperatives in particular, it is a matter close to their hearts to support their members with low-cost electricity and at the same time set an example for sustainability - as in Malchin, Altenburg and Gräfenhainichen. The focus is on the community, and only as a community can we achieve climate neutrality. That's why we at Solarimo are planning tenant parties after the on-site commissioning to get the tenants on board and take this big step towards sustainability together."

A sign of local sustainability: Solarimo supports the housing cooperatives in Malchin (property shown in the photo), Altenburg and Gräfenhainichen with green tenant electricity.