A deep dive into the world’s biggest community solar project with SunMoney Solar
It’s no surprise that renewable energy investments have been delivering dramatically high returns in major economies, with governments providing increased incentives and investors consciously seeking ‘green’ options. They are a great example of future aware investments, bringing consistent and long-lasting returns.
These investments have proven to be more stable in their growth, primarily because of the very nature of their offering – cheaper, higher-yields and a no-emissions energy extraction technology. In the Middle East alone, renewable energy presents a $341.1 billion opportunity for companies wishing to ride on the growth in this decade, according to a Research and Markets study.
While energy and technology companies are evaluating various investment avenues into renewables in the region, SunMoney Solar – an emerging company in the space of solar energy, is making a strong headway into the Middle East with its unique community solar business model. With the vision of making renewable energy investments accessible, their model provides small, private investors with the opportunity to invest in solar power allowing for a lucrative mix of income, growth and sustainability.
In an exclusive interview with The Wealth Today, Gábor Eisenbart, Founder; Peter Bahorecz – Partner & Chief Networking Officer and Zoltan Rendes, Partner & Chief Marketing Officer from SunMoney Solar share their vision and strategy in establishing a global footprint for their solar business.
TWT: Could you elaborate on your community solar business model?
Peter Bahorecz: SunMoney Solar Group builds or acquires solar power plants. Our clients/members buy usage rights in our solar parks by watt output. SunMoney sells the electricity to the utilities and the clients get their share of the revenues monthly. SunMoney supports and maintains the solar power plants. The client can also become a business member to sell our products and earn commissions and bonuses.
TWT: How do you decide the optimal size of the project?
Gábor Eisenbart: We build or acquire more than what we need for the community solar power program, because we have other products and services as well, like SunMoney Summits which offers direct ownership in one of our solar power plants through buying preference shares. We also trade and consult. The size in this case is not that important, our decision is made on the basis of the financial conditions of the project. We are looking for projects with long term feed in tariff at locations where the government is motivating the private sector to get involved in the development of renewable energy sources by incentives and subsidies.
TWT: As the world’s biggest community solar power program, how do you measure your growth and impact?
Zoltan Rendes: We are a small company with a huge community. We currently have 24 thousand members from 47 countries. We are rolling our program out in phases, region by region. We started in Europe in 2013, then the Americas and parts of Asia and now we will get to the MENA region.
Our community is invitation only for now. We want to make sure that all potential clients understand the business model before joining, that is why we are setting up partner offices all over the world.
TWT: What is the subscriber value proposition you offer – Why invest with SunMoney?
Gábor Eisenbart: SunMoney brings everyone the opportunity to be part of the renewable energy revolution. The energy industry is traditionally a “big money” industry. Our system makes it possible to buy in with smaller amounts of money and enjoy the benefits for up to 25 years. It is also a great solution to cover electricity costs from renewable sources for the ones who live in city condos and apartments where one can’t install a household solar system on the roof.
The client can expect revenues coming from the 1st month. Based on our historical financial data returns are expected to be around 8% annually in the community solar power program and 10% in our SunMoney Summits offering.
TWT: What are some of the risks that subscribers need to be aware of while investing?
Gábor Eisenbart: Renewable energy is considered to be a low-risk investment. There are some technical risks which are mitigated by insurance and warranties, the longterm feed-in tariff contracts with the national utilities guaranteed by the state take care of most legal risks. There are of course some limited risks in foreign currency exchange rates, but those are not industry-specific.
TWT: Are you looking at making investments into Middle Eastern solar projects in the future?
Zoltan Rendes: Since SunMoney is a global company, we wanted our headquarters to be in a city which is a financial and economic hub. Dubai was the perfect choice for that, a thriving metropolis perfect for business and leisure. We are closely looking at projects in the MENA region and will surely jump on the right one. Deepa Sud, our Executive Director in Dubai is highly experienced and is working hard on identifying good opportunities.
We are also working on bringing our small, mid and large investor product offerings to the region.
TWT: What’s next for SunMoney Solar?
Zoltan Rendes: Currently we are in the process of expanding our product portfolio with large, professional and institutional investor products. We are setting up a renewable energy investment fund for that purpose. Meanwhile, we are working with some researchers to set up innovative projects for producing and storing electricity.
We think of SunMoney as a lifestyle choice, not just because it’s future aware investing, but also our local events and global social media content make it possible to learn more about renewable energy and a “greener”, better life. We would like to continue organizing and taking part in events and charities after the pandemic passes. We are also planning to set up a fun early education program about renewable energy. We understand that real change starts at the individual level, but you can’t push it, you have to take it one sunny day at a time.
Three Easy Steps to get started with SunMoney
Peter Bahorecz:
Step 1: Read the website, check out our official social media pages, and watch informative videos on our YouTube channel
www.sunmoney.com | Youtube | Facebook
Step 2: Write to our email address info@sunmoney.com to get an invitation link to register. You will be guided to buy a package.
Step 3: Check out our training materials to learn about how you can be an active member of our community and make money while saving the planet!
