sonnenCommunity – A clean and decentralised energy system

The sonnenCommunity is the largest energy community of its kind, including all sonnen customers. It offers its members to jointly shape a clean and decentralised energy system where the household becomes the centre of it.

Everybody can choose between several options how much he or she wants to engage in that common goal. Either by just signing an energy contract and getting clean energy from the sonnenCommunity, or to take all options such as: produce, store and share energy with other members, become part of the virtual power plant and help to stabilise the grids in a new way. Together with the sonnenCommunity’s EV subscription model, sonnenDrive enables a household to completely switch to clean energy.

What is the mission of the project?

Clean and affordable energy for everyone.

Where and when did the project start?

Germany — 2015.

Where (in which countries) is the project offered today?

The sonnenCommunity is global. It depends on the regulatory framework of every country for what specific services can be offered. Most services are provided today in Germany, Italy, UK, Australia and the US.

To whom is this project aimed? Who belongs to your target group?

The sonnenCommunity aims to make the household the new centre of the energy system.

What do you consider to be the most innovative aspects of your offer?

The sonnenCommunity is innovating the energy sector in two dimensions, with both new technologies and business models. An example is the virtual power plant where sonnen connects thousands of comparatively small home storage systems. By doing so they can participate in stabilising the grid on a national and regional level, a task that has been reserved to larger scale industrial units so far. That is only possible since sonnen can digitally connect those single units to form a large entity. The household benefits from it via an energy contract with an annual profit sharing for this service. That provides regular additional income and makes the investment in a storage system more profitable.

What are the most important impacts of the project in terms of sustainability?

The sonnenCommunity shows how the energy world of the future can look like. It is highly attractive since it fascinates people and offers financial benefits. So it might make people switch to clean energy faster and in a more complete way.

With its technologies, the sonnenCommunity helps to solve challenges of the energy transition like storing solar energy to make it more stable, and to provide grid stability in a new and clean approach.

Which aspects are particularly interesting from a design perspective?

The sonnenCommunity combines clean energies like solar, storage or e-mobility with digital connection to form a complete solution so a household can become part of a new energy system.

Do you also offer your service digitally?

The customer has access to the sonnen portal via App or computer.

What are some interesting numbers about the project?

As a sonnenCommunity member you don’t need your conventional energy provider anymore – you are 100% independent.

What happens next? What are your goals?

The goal each day is to get more people to join a new energy system as part of the sonnenCommunity.

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