Sungevity & E.ON Team Up To Expand Solar Energy Business In Europe

Solar energy system provider Sungevity is now teaming up with one of the biggest investor-owned utility companies in the world, E.ON Benelux, to bring the solar company’s quite successful turnkey solar energy service to the Dutch market.

While the partnership will initially be focused on the Netherlands, the eventual plan is for it to expand to other European markets/countries as well.

The partnering follows on the heels of E.ON SE’s strategic investment last month into Sungevity, an investment that formed part of the $70 million in new equity financing raised by the solar provider.

The press release provides more:

To facilitate its European expansion, Sungevity has converted its minority stake in Dutch solar startup Zonline to full ownership. Sungevity will retain and expand the Zonline workforce, including CEO Frank Goovaerts and founder Roebyem Anders, and rebrand the company as Sungevity Netherlands. The new entity will serve as Sungevity’s European headquarters, and will manage and support the solar services provided to E.ON customers as well as other Sungevity customers acquired through separate marketing initiatives and partnerships. Sungevity’s acquisition of Zonline closed on May 22, 2014.

E.ON customers purchasing Sungevity’s services will reap the benefits of Sungevity’s remote solar design capabilities and proprietary iQuote instant quoting technology that eliminates the need for upfront site visits through the use of satellite imagery and aerial photography. Quotes include estimated cost savings over conventional energy sources based on buyers’ historical consumption rates.

“As the second-highest-priced energy market in Europe, the Netherlands is an ideal place to begin our strategic partnership with E.ON,” explained Andrew Birch, Sungevity’s Chief Executive Officer. “Being able to tap into their customer base, their brand recognition and their credibility as one of the largest utilities in Europe gives us a solid route to market with extensive growth potential in the face of rising demand for alternative energy sources.”

In related news, the $70 million in new equity financing recently raised by Sungevity came via an interesting assortment of investors, some old, some new. The investors — which include Jetstream Ventures, E.ON, and GE Ventures — create some interesting questions.

As well as the new deal with E.ON, what else does the company have in the works? Perhaps something even larger?

Image Credit: Sungevity