Together with the Ministry of Climate, we have been working to solve a major roadblock: existing legal frameworks make it difficult for apartment associations to partner with private companies to install solar panels on apartment rooftops and use the local energy produced.
What has changed?
Until now, there was no legal clarity in terms of how to categorise the installation of solar panels on an apartment building when done in partnership with an outside partner or service provider. Thus, it was unclear what kind of approval the housing association required from the apartment owners. In practice, building solar parks on large apartment buildings by outside service providers was nearly impossible.
The Ministry of Climate has just published a comprehensive legal analysis that outlines a legislative change proposal to make this business model a reality.
The outcome:
- The 51% rule: The analysis defines energy-efficiency renovations (including the installation of solar panels) as “upgrades” (ajakohastamine). This means housing associations can now move forward with installing rooftop solar panels with a 51% qualified majority vote instead of requiring unanimous or 90% approval.
- Next steps: Based on the results of the legal analysis, amendments to the Housing Associations Act are being proposed.
This model allows energy companies to renovate roofs and install solar parks at no upfront cost to the residents, who then buy cheaper, locally-produced renewable energy directly from their own roof via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This way, we are turning theoretical energy cooperatives into a highly scalable reality.