The war in Ukraine resulted in an undeniable energy crisis. However, not everyone seems to suffer from this outcome. The increasing demand for solar energy systems in Germany, which is expected to replace Russian gas, has turned into an opportunity for companies operating in this field.Europe seeks alternative to Russian gas
The energy company Solarwatt, located in Germany, expects to experience a 52 percent increase in its revenues this year alone and to generate a total revenue of 500 million euros. The company also plans to increase its revenue to 1 billion euros in 2025. The CEO of the company, Detlef Neuhaus, also stated that they will increase the number of personnel from 800 to 940. Meanwhile, Solarwatt’s sales were at the level of 160 million euros in 2021, while this number doubled to 330 million euros in 2022.
Homeowners in Europe are looking for alternatives to replace Russian gas by installing solar panels, batteries and heat pumps. Solarwatt, on the other hand, offers mostly home-oriented solar energy systems to its customers. Still, not everything is rosy. Despite its current success, Solarwatt still struggles with a lack of parts and labor. “There are still challenges with supply chains and installation capacities,” Neuhaus said.
Continent turns into renewable energy market
In addition, the entire solar-based value chain, consisting of panels, batteries, heat pump and digital management, currently still costs tens of thousands of euros. In terms of cost, the transition of Europeans to alternative systems is not very fast. However, in the coming years, solar energy will become very cheap with the decrease in costs. According to a report published by Oslo-based Rystad Energy in November 2022, the cost of generating electricity using solar photovoltaics will be 10 times cheaper than current options in 2030.Generally speaking, we can say that Europe is turning into a large renewable energy market. Many companies are expected to compete here and the costs are expected to decrease gradually. It is stated that as European countries try to build more renewable energy plants to reduce their carbon emissions, the average capital cost of these plants will fall to 1.2 euros per watt.
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