Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2010. The obligation on electricity companies to buy all solar power produced describes the feed-in tariff then in force in Spain; incentives for new installations were suspended in 2012. The grant and earnings figures are unsourced 2010 estimates.
How can I make money from solar energy? Here we explain how you can get into the renewable energy business, and more specifically solar energy. The most convenient option, and the one that requires the least investment, is selling solar energy.
Selling solar energy
As we’ve said, any individual or company can install what is needed to sell the electricity produced by solar energy.
Electricity companies are required by decree to buy the electricity produced, with no limit. So we start from an idea whose product we know in advance will be bought, at a price set by law.
What we need to sell solar energy
Solar photovoltaic energy requires an installation connected to the power grid. This can be done with fixed solar panels or tracking panels. We’ll focus on fixed solar panels.
They can be placed on the roofs of industrial buildings, offices, homes and so on. The advantage of these panels is that they are cheaper, they are easier to integrate into a surface, and the paperwork goes through more quickly.
Where the business is
The business lies in selling the energy we produce. Every country offers grants for installing panels, since renewable energy is being developed for the good of the environment. Some grants cover 20% of the cost and don’t have to be repaid, others cover 40% and are repaid over 7 years, and others finance 100% of the initial investment.
The idea is to get into this energy sales business without having to put in money from our own pocket. It is estimated that 25 square meters of solar panels bring in 1,500-1,800€ a year and that the investment pays for itself in under 7 years. For the remaining years, all you have to do is collect the money.
Clearly, the way to make this business even more profitable is to have more than 25 m² of space for panels, so that our income is even higher.
If you’re interested in taking part in the solar energy business this way, don’t put it off for too long: as demand for solar panels grows, their price keeps going up and the grants keep shrinking. Now let’s look at other kinds of businesses related to solar energy.
Featured image: Elliott Brown, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
