Sungevity and E.ON Collaborate to Expand Solar Energy Business in Europe

Sungevity—a solar electricity company based in Oakland, California—is teaming up with German utility company E.ON Benelux to bring the solar company’s profitable brand of energy services to the Dutch market.

The partnership is focused primarily on the Netherlands, though the company plans to expand into other European markets and nations as well.

Recently, E.ON SE invested in Sungevity, contributing to the $70 million the company raised in new equity financing. Sungevity has high praise for its investors: “With E.ON and GE Ventures as equity investors, the Sungevity coalition now includes the world's largest investor-owned utility company, the company that built much of the planet's power infrastructure and one of the world's largest retailers,” said Andrew Birch, Sungevity's Chief Executive Officer. "That lineup combined with our customer-centric technology platform and the capitalization from this investment round positions Sungevity to be the leading global solar brand."

A press release from the company elaborated further on the deal:

To facilitate its European expansion, Sungevity has converted its minority stake in Dutch solar startup Zonline to full ownership. Sungevity will retain and expand the Zonline workforce, including CEO Frank Goovaerts and founder Roebyem Anders, and rebrand the company as Sungevity Netherlands. The new entity will serve as Sungevity’s European headquarters, and will manage and support the solar services provided to E.ON customers as well as other Sungevity customers acquired through separate marketing initiatives and partnerships. Sungevity’s acquisition of Zonline closed on May 22, 2014.

E.ON customers purchasing Sungevity’s services will reap the benefits of Sungevity’s remote solar design capabilities and proprietary iQuote instant quoting technology that eliminates the need for upfront site visits through the use of satellite imagery and aerial photography. Quotes include estimated cost savings over conventional energy sources based on buyers’ historical consumption rates.

“E.ON is in the business of servicing energy customers across several countries, and as new, more customer-centric solutions around residential solar arise, we want to provide our customers with the best solutions available,” said Susana Quintana-Plaza, Vice President, Technology & Innovation/Strategic Co-Investment at E.ON SE. “Our capital investment in Sungevity’s technology and customer-centric platform is a significant part of this.”

In addition to E.ON and GE Ventures, Sungevity received investment funds from Jetstream Ventures, which Sungevity describes as “a Nashville-based fund focused on long-term investment in private companies using technology to achieve environmental and social impact.”  Justifiably, Sungevity has high hopes and big plans for its newly acquired capital.