Post by account_disabled on Feb 18, 2024 10:52:10 GMT 1
in Europe with the most hours of sunshine, Spain has very low levels of domestic solar installations . Samara, a Madrid-based startup founded in May 2022 and launching a service in its local market today, wants to change that, spotting what it believes is a great opportunity to accelerate the market transition to renewable energy.
The startup has just closed an investment of 2 million euros in financing to develop technology that simplifies the process of installing solar energy systems , batteries and electric vehicle chargers in homes, as well as the development of digital tools so that homes manage their use. The round is led by European and Latin American venture capital firm, Seaya and Pelion Green Future, an investment holding company focused on clean energy and climate technology.
Homes in Spain to solar energy
Samara's approach is similar to that of Berlin-based Zolar, which offers an online configurator to help homeowners choose a PV system to buy or rent and other digital energy products, as well as conn Special Data ect them with a network of installers premises to carry out the work.
“We really want to simplify the adoption of solar energy for customers,” says Samara co-founder Iván Cabezuela. “That means simplifying the experience by using software and technology to create simpler proposals and projects for customers, such as customers being able to see where the panels will fit in their home with a 3D design, and see what their savings would be, and things like that.”
This will include the creation of an installer management application for the third-party installers Samara intends to work with on its platform.
Samara's other co-founder, Manel Pujol, points out how much more mature Germany's domestic solar market is compared to Spain, but says they are hopeful their local market can catch up and capitalize on all of Spain's abundant sunlight. .
“In Spain, there is a huge gap between the penetration that would be expected from a country like Spain and some other countries in Europe,” he says, citing figures from last year when only around 70,000 solar installations were completed in the country compared to the others, about 1.5 million in Germany. (For a little more context, Spain has around 6 million homes in total).
“In reality it means that 99.6% of the market is still untapped,” adds Cabezuela.
Samara's co-founders say the reason Spain is lagging behind in home solar installation comes down to the lack of a supporting legal framework: until 2020, there was no clear regulation allowing households to sell the excess energy produced by solar panels to the grid, for example. Additionally, distribution and transportation taxes were actually applied to solar energy generated by homes, creating a disincentive to adopt clean energy by further undermining unit economics.
Regulatory barriers essentially meant that Spain's domestic solar market was limited until very recently. And that historic underdevelopment means the market has a relative lack of solar installation companies focused on the residential sector, with only about 1,000 small businesses at this point.
However, Samara's co-founders argue that's another key piece of the opportunity they have in front of them now.
“The way in which the actual process of delivering residential solar energy is carried out has a lot of room for improvement,” argues Pujol. “From how you simulate production at home, the software you use, how you make these estimates, how you present that information to the client and how you essentially capture them with that information. But it also has to do, in the longer term, with what technology you build to manage this energy ecosystem in the customer's home.
“Because we are going from a world in which energy was delivered to you through a cable and there was no type of management to a world in which suddenly you are going to have production, you are going to have storage, you are going to have a car which will have to be loaded. You will most likely electrify your heating, which is, in many cases, two-thirds of your place's energy consumption. So there is a large electrification component at the residential level and there is no clear way to manage it properly. So we also want to, as we move forward, build the technology to do that.”
That said, if the startup is going to scale, it will need the residential installer sector to grow with it, as well as be comfortable adopting the digital tools they are building. Which means expanding the network and skills of installers is a centerpiece of Samara's mission.
“We see a great opportunity to create high-quality green energy jobs,” says Cabezuela. “Spain will see the creation of more than 350,000 new green energy jobs by 2030, so we see a huge opportunity to hire, train and develop. A lot of people are creating that opportunity, so when you look at Spain, we think it's a market that can actually become the go-to player when it comes to solar energy and reskilling. It is already quite advanced in certain aspects.”
Broader regional movements are also driving the creation of green jobs. The EU's 'Green Deal' investment strategy , for example, which aims to make the bloc 'climate neutral' by 2050 through a plan to attract €1 trillion of public and private investment over the next decade to accelerate Europe's green transition, includes a focus on training and upskilling for future-ready jobs, meaning Member States like Spain are in line to receive sustained EU support to transform their industries and economies through the development of green jobs.
Another barrier is the sheer cost to homeowners of installing solar, although with more favorable regulation, unit economics have at least improved. According to Samara, the cost of installing (just) a solar system can be around €7,000, but they say typical savings are 50% to 70% of the electricity bill.
Installing a battery, which allows for the storage of energy generated by the home's solar system (i.e. allowing them to consume more of their own freely generated clean energy, thus potentially saving more on their energy costs), It costs around €4000. While an EV charger can be included as part of the service offered by Samara for around €1,500.
Another feature of the Spanish market that could present a barrier to scaling residential solar is the fact that much of the housing consists of flats in apartment blocks, where owners may not have direct access to the roof. Here, however, the startup recognizes that this offers an additional opportunity for the intelligent digital management software it is building.
“That's the third piece of regulation that has happened in the last two years, which has been really encouraging and exciting for us. Basically, energy communities and the regulation of energy storage are now regulated in Spain,” explains Cabezuela.
“Spain has quite modern regulation when it comes to energy communities, which means that you can install solar panels on any roof of any building and supply energy to any user who is within 500 meters of that installation, which means that in community buildings You can make common installations, which is using a common roof and distributing that energy to neighbors. And even people who live in nearby buildings.”
“We think it's also a really exciting opportunity to bring technology to the way people share their energy,” he adds.
The startup has just closed an investment of 2 million euros in financing to develop technology that simplifies the process of installing solar energy systems , batteries and electric vehicle chargers in homes, as well as the development of digital tools so that homes manage their use. The round is led by European and Latin American venture capital firm, Seaya and Pelion Green Future, an investment holding company focused on clean energy and climate technology.
Homes in Spain to solar energy
Samara's approach is similar to that of Berlin-based Zolar, which offers an online configurator to help homeowners choose a PV system to buy or rent and other digital energy products, as well as conn Special Data ect them with a network of installers premises to carry out the work.
“We really want to simplify the adoption of solar energy for customers,” says Samara co-founder Iván Cabezuela. “That means simplifying the experience by using software and technology to create simpler proposals and projects for customers, such as customers being able to see where the panels will fit in their home with a 3D design, and see what their savings would be, and things like that.”
This will include the creation of an installer management application for the third-party installers Samara intends to work with on its platform.
Samara's other co-founder, Manel Pujol, points out how much more mature Germany's domestic solar market is compared to Spain, but says they are hopeful their local market can catch up and capitalize on all of Spain's abundant sunlight. .
“In Spain, there is a huge gap between the penetration that would be expected from a country like Spain and some other countries in Europe,” he says, citing figures from last year when only around 70,000 solar installations were completed in the country compared to the others, about 1.5 million in Germany. (For a little more context, Spain has around 6 million homes in total).
“In reality it means that 99.6% of the market is still untapped,” adds Cabezuela.
Samara's co-founders say the reason Spain is lagging behind in home solar installation comes down to the lack of a supporting legal framework: until 2020, there was no clear regulation allowing households to sell the excess energy produced by solar panels to the grid, for example. Additionally, distribution and transportation taxes were actually applied to solar energy generated by homes, creating a disincentive to adopt clean energy by further undermining unit economics.
Regulatory barriers essentially meant that Spain's domestic solar market was limited until very recently. And that historic underdevelopment means the market has a relative lack of solar installation companies focused on the residential sector, with only about 1,000 small businesses at this point.
However, Samara's co-founders argue that's another key piece of the opportunity they have in front of them now.
“The way in which the actual process of delivering residential solar energy is carried out has a lot of room for improvement,” argues Pujol. “From how you simulate production at home, the software you use, how you make these estimates, how you present that information to the client and how you essentially capture them with that information. But it also has to do, in the longer term, with what technology you build to manage this energy ecosystem in the customer's home.
“Because we are going from a world in which energy was delivered to you through a cable and there was no type of management to a world in which suddenly you are going to have production, you are going to have storage, you are going to have a car which will have to be loaded. You will most likely electrify your heating, which is, in many cases, two-thirds of your place's energy consumption. So there is a large electrification component at the residential level and there is no clear way to manage it properly. So we also want to, as we move forward, build the technology to do that.”
That said, if the startup is going to scale, it will need the residential installer sector to grow with it, as well as be comfortable adopting the digital tools they are building. Which means expanding the network and skills of installers is a centerpiece of Samara's mission.
“We see a great opportunity to create high-quality green energy jobs,” says Cabezuela. “Spain will see the creation of more than 350,000 new green energy jobs by 2030, so we see a huge opportunity to hire, train and develop. A lot of people are creating that opportunity, so when you look at Spain, we think it's a market that can actually become the go-to player when it comes to solar energy and reskilling. It is already quite advanced in certain aspects.”
Broader regional movements are also driving the creation of green jobs. The EU's 'Green Deal' investment strategy , for example, which aims to make the bloc 'climate neutral' by 2050 through a plan to attract €1 trillion of public and private investment over the next decade to accelerate Europe's green transition, includes a focus on training and upskilling for future-ready jobs, meaning Member States like Spain are in line to receive sustained EU support to transform their industries and economies through the development of green jobs.
Another barrier is the sheer cost to homeowners of installing solar, although with more favorable regulation, unit economics have at least improved. According to Samara, the cost of installing (just) a solar system can be around €7,000, but they say typical savings are 50% to 70% of the electricity bill.
Installing a battery, which allows for the storage of energy generated by the home's solar system (i.e. allowing them to consume more of their own freely generated clean energy, thus potentially saving more on their energy costs), It costs around €4000. While an EV charger can be included as part of the service offered by Samara for around €1,500.
Another feature of the Spanish market that could present a barrier to scaling residential solar is the fact that much of the housing consists of flats in apartment blocks, where owners may not have direct access to the roof. Here, however, the startup recognizes that this offers an additional opportunity for the intelligent digital management software it is building.
“That's the third piece of regulation that has happened in the last two years, which has been really encouraging and exciting for us. Basically, energy communities and the regulation of energy storage are now regulated in Spain,” explains Cabezuela.
“Spain has quite modern regulation when it comes to energy communities, which means that you can install solar panels on any roof of any building and supply energy to any user who is within 500 meters of that installation, which means that in community buildings You can make common installations, which is using a common roof and distributing that energy to neighbors. And even people who live in nearby buildings.”
“We think it's also a really exciting opportunity to bring technology to the way people share their energy,” he adds.