Use the booming solar energy trend – but clever
Solar energy is currently experiencing an unprecedented upswing. Driven by increasing energy prices, state support and growing environmental awareness are increasingly focusing on the power of the sun. Thanks to their skills, consumers become more independent of rising electricity prices, reduce their invoices and use an ecological energy source.
Last but not least, the expansion of photovoltaic systems also reaches record values before the Ukraine War and an unsafe energy supply-and presents politics and business with new opportunities and challenges. According to the industry, the global market for photovoltaics was 316.78 billion US dollars in 2023 and in 2024 it was already $ 399.44 billion.
Growth rate of 25.88 percent annually
It is expected that the market will grow to $ 2.5 trillion in 2032, with an average growth rate of 25.88 percent annually.
In Luxembourg, where more and more people rely on sustainable development, solar modules have become a sought -after solution for private households and above all for companies. According to the International Agency for Renewable Energies (Irena), the cumulative photovoltaic performance of Luxembourg reached 523 megawatts by the end of last year. The year before, she was still 394 megawatts.
François new and his company specialize in the development of photovoltaic projects on an industrial scale Photo: Chris Karaba
International ambitions
The company Enerdeal, founded in 2009, has set itself the task of promoting intelligent and sustainable energy use. In addition, it offers industrial companies and owners of large areas of modern solar solutions. The company is represented in several markets with branches in Luxembourg, Belgium and France.
ENERDEAL specializes in the needs of energy -intensive users and offers solutions that are increasingly integrated with battery storage systems and charging stations for electric vehicles. The company thus meets the modern requirements for sustainability and environmentally friendly mobility.
The entire process is managed
« My company is characterized by its ability to manage the entire process from planning to operation, including the internal financing of solar projects, » says François Neu, founder and managing partner of Enerdeal.
« This approach enables our customers to achieve considerable savings from the first day and to concentrate on their core business without having to use equity to install these energy infrastructures, » emphasizes the 56-year-old.
A good half of all projects are financed by energy deals, for example through leasing contracts. « With our solar-as-a-service financing model, our customers can quickly introduce solutions for renewable energies that are both cost-effective and sustainable, » the company founder, which specifies, specifies that it has only installed around 50 megawatts, around 150,000 solar modules in Luxembourg.
Subsidies promote incentive to solar systems.
Keyword cost efficiency: Without subsidies, projects of a certain size would pay off after six to seven years. With the subsidies that are granted in Luxembourg, « but unfortunately not in this form in Belgium », this result is reached after three to four years. He also emphasizes the “good visions of the government” in this context. New goes so far to describe Luxembourg as a kind of « Eldorado » for photovoltaic systems with an output of five to ten kilowatts.
As far as the panels are concerned, Enerdeal does not pass the market leader China. China is the largest manufacturer of photovoltaic solar modules worldwide and dominates global production with a share of almost 80 percent. The production capacity for solar modules has more than tripled since 2018 – « and we also speak of very good quality, » says Neu – and this is also a corresponding cost factor for project dimensions.
Enerdeals join the EDP group
Enerdeeal achieved a strategic milestone in 2023 by joining the EDP group’s company. The group focuses on renewable energy generation plants, networks, customer solutions and global energy management. « With this integration, we can benefit from the strength and global know-how of one of the world’s largest players in the field of renewable energies, » says the civil engineer.
He has already gained and generated around 40 percent of sales in Luxembourg worldwide and a total of 95 percent in the Luxembourg, Belgium and France region.
« With more than 15 years of experience in the technology sector, we are now able to accompany and finance our national and international customers with intelligent solutions, especially at the level of memorygration, » says new experience in Africa, especially with the integration of large battery systems. Innovation and entrepreneurship are therefore the focus of the corporate strategy.
An example already realized by Enerdeal in Luxembourg can be found at Ceratizit, where a photovoltaic parking lot with more than 500 parking spaces was built. This produces 1.3 gigawatt hours (GWH) annually, which corresponds to seven million kilometers covered with the electric car or an annual CO₂ saving of 650 tons.
We plan to install an additional one million square meters in the next three years.
« With more than 15 years of experience in the technology area, we are able to accompany our customers with intelligent solutions today, » says François new Photo: Chris Karaba
Energy requirements of around 25,000 families
At Luxlait, a solar power plant with an output of 1,860 kWh was installed on the roof of the factory, which consumes the entire production itself. A second solar investment at Streff is a direct investment to renew and upgrade the existing system with a combined roof and facade system with a total capacity of 700 kWp.
ENERDEAL has developed a solution based on solar energy in connection with a battery memory in Manono (Democratic Republic) and won an international tender from FinExpo in Madagascar to electrify five cities with a hybrid system of solar and battery systems.
The company has set itself the goal of double its sales by 2030 and strengthen its teams with numerous highly specialized profiles. « We are planning to install an additional million square meters on roofs or parking spaces in the next three years, » says new, which in this context praises the quick implementation of projects in Luxembourg from six to twelve months.
This significant expansion corresponds to an additional solar capacity of 100 MW, with which the energy requirement of around 25,000 families can be covered.
Agri-Photovoltaic systems in the tender
The Luxembourg Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity have committed 51 measures to promote the use of renewable energies across the country. The measures that were taken on the subject of energy following a national consultation also include the obligation to continue to carry out tenders for Agri-Photovoltaic systems.
Photo: NABU
The second tender for Agri-Photovoltaic systems was started in February and runs until September 1st. She is divided into three lots. The first lot affects so-called vertical bifacial solar modules, a second lot aims at the roofing of special cultures with photovoltaic systems, and a third lot affects open space systems on grassland or arable land.
In each lot, systems with a size between 100 kilowatts and five megawatts are eligible, with the selected projects to enjoy a 15-year market premium contract. At the first Luxembourg tender for Agri-Photovoltaic systems in 2023, there were surcharges for 52.7 megawatts, divided into 14 projects.
The government’s package of measures also provides for an annual tender for photovoltaic systems between 30 and 200 kilowatts, which are aimed at small and medium-sized companies. In the first tender, she awarded surcharges for 43.3 megawatts for 85 projects.
Sunny intelligence with EMS
In these projects, new speaks primarily of a « solar technology 2.0 » – and above all of EMS. In solar technology, EMS stands for energy management system. An EMS is a system for monitoring, controlling and optimizing energy consumption and energy generation, especially in connection with photovoltaic systems, storage, electric vehicles and consumers in the household or in the trade.
Roof installation in the parking lot in Esch Photo: Enerdeal
« It is also simply about optimizing the production, » says Neu. Such a system monitors the photovoltaic system and ensures that the current generated electricity is used as efficiently as possible.
The EMS can switch on devices in the household such as heat pumps, washing machines and wall boxes when a lot of solar power is currently generated. The memory can also be controlled, i.e. when it is loaded or unloaded. This reduces the electricity cover from the public network by prioritizing self -supply. For example, this is relevant for dynamic electricity prices.
Monitoring offers an insight into the generation, consumption, the level of charge of batteries and much more. Such a system is « a central element for the intelligent and economic use of solar power » in the solar technology and turns a PV system a « smart energy » system.
