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London, July 24 - Dutch solar energy company Soly is expanding to the UK. In addition to its home country of the Netherlands, the company previously became active in South Africa, Belgium and Germany. From September on Soly will also start operations in the UK.
UK on the brink of solar energy breakthrough
In the UK, the solar energy market has picked up sharply. The UK government reported on its official channels on May 26 this year that already more than one million homes have installed solar panels. Since the government passed new building regulations in spring 2022, the urgency for consumers to install solar panels has increased significantly. New-build homes must produce about 31% less carbon dioxide than they do now. They are the precursor to a set of regulations that will be much stricter. Such as the Future Homes Standard, which takes effect in 2025 and reduces permitted emissions by 80%. According to the Solar Energy UK association, this target could lead to a five-fold increase in the number of new-build homes with solar panels.
A logical step
After expanding to South Africa, Belgium and Germany, Soly now decides to enter the UK market. Milan van der Meulen, co-founder of Soly: “The Netherlands is the leader in solar panels with the most solar panels per capita in Europe. To be able to answer that demand, we have developed a lean and fully digital organisation. We are now demonstrating this scalability in other countries as well. England is still on the eve of mass adoption of solar panels. The market is hugely fragmented by local installers in particular. The result? Long waiting times and sky-high prices. That does not fit with our mission: making solar energy accessible to everyone. With our modern organisation, we are going to make a difference for consumers in the UK. Besides solar panels, we will simultaneously install a home battery, charging station and the Soly Brain, our energy management system.”
Soly is rolling out its service in the UK in a partnership with Shell Energy. Shell Energy supplies energy to around 1.4 million households in the UK. Elvin Nagamootoo, Head of Product – Energy, Shell Energy Retail said, “Our collaboration with Soly provides households in the UK a much-needed opportunity to switch to cleaner energy, and save on their annual electricity bill. The partnership with Soly builds on our support for customers looking to make cleaner energy choices. We have launched a free telephone advice line to support households seeking better understanding on solar panels and other cleaner energy choices.”
About Soly
Soly was founded in 2013 by brothers Patrick and Milan van der Meulen with the mission to make solar energy available to everyone. Since its inception, Soly has become one of the leaders in the solar energy market, operating in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the UK and South Africa. In 2022, Shell Ventures and pension fund ABP joined as minority shareholders, strengthening Soly’s position. Soly is also a certified B Corp. An international hallmark for companies that strive for the highest standards of sustainability, financial transparency and social justice.