L R AS Published on Monday 9 September 2019 - n° 288 - Categories:France, other France
Roof rental, already a success in France
The website 'locationtoiture.fr' offers homeowners the opportunity to rent their roofs to install solar panels. In the first twelve months of its existence, 1,700 projects were submitted on the site. After selecting their feasibility, 440 of them, corresponding to 44 MWp and a turnover of €66m, will be built by developers and financed by investors.
In July 2019, a second offer is launched. It is intended for farmers (hangarsolaire.fr) to install panels on their sheds. The company offers turnkey PV hangars on a self-financing basis. The response to the offer is immediate and impressive in just a few weeks: 2,000 100 kWp projects will be built next year, 20% of which will be turnkey hangars.
In view of this success, the company is testing a third offer, that of a plot of land to be equipped with solar panels.
Tecsol of 4 September
NDLR This company is only a commercial enterprise. After studying the projects, it puts owners in touch with developers to set them up and investors to finance the operation.
This company is simply picking up on the success of American roof renters (who finance the work and then receive regular rents). The Americans are offering owners who are a bit cold, a PV installation that costs them nothing and brings them money. How can landlords hesitate? These companies are just starting a new business. Because once these homeowners or farmers understand the value of the operation, they will tell their neighbours and friends about it: PV installations will start to grow.
Of course, the public interest in this location will attract other companies that will offer comparable products. We can expect a renaissance of rooftop solar installations. Initially, rental is necessary because the system, the interest, the cost and the financial attractiveness are not known. In the second stage, the owners will finance the installation of the panels themselves.
This week, a company indicates that it is developing rental in Switzerland (Roof rental, the first step towards the generalisation of residential installations).
