German battery storage manufacturer sonnen will offer German households the possibility to switch between feed-in-tariffs from the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) remuneration and wholesale market prices.
The “sonnenFlat direct” power supply plan is expected to be introduced in the third quarter of this year and will first be offered to households with newly added rooftop PV and sonnen’s battery storage, while existing customers with solar PV commissioned from 2020 will have to wait until 2023.
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The company said it will be offering a competitive payment rate, annually determined by the company. This year’s rate will be set at €0.10c/kWh for 2022 which is above the current €0.0693c/kWh to be paid under the country’s EEG tariff as per the “Easter package” amendment.
In the event that EEG remuneration outcompetes sonnen’s offer, customers will be able to switch back to the EEG remuneration.
The Shell-owned company said excess power will either be fed to the sonnenComunity, the company’s own aggregated network of solar and energy storage customers, or sold on the electricity exchange. Households will in return receive free electricity when they do not generate enough of their own.
Oliver Koch, CEO of sonnen, said: “Today we are opening a new chapter in the energy transition for households. The fact that the market price for solar power is higher than the EEG remuneration shows that renewable energies can survive independently on the market today.”
