Solar Energy for Apartment Buildings – opening the market for renewable energy providers

Existing legal frameworks have historically made it difficult for housing associations to partner with renewable energy providers to install rooftop solar panels. Namely, it was highly ambiguous what level of approval was actually required from apartment owners. In practice, this often forced a requirement for unanimous consent, making partnerships nearly impossible. This, in turn, left residents without affordable, locally produced renewable energy and stalled the national transition toward sustainable energy solutions.

Accelerate Estonia, in collaboration with renewable energy company Sunly and the Ministry of Climate, has been working to unlock this new market vertical. Together, we have developed a model where energy companies install solar parks at no upfront cost to housing associations. Residents can then purchase cheaper, locally produced green energy directly from their own roof via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

The project has reached a major regulatory milestone. The Ministry of Climate has published a comprehensive legal analysis outlining proposals to make this business model a reality.

The analysis defines energy-efficiency renovations (including third-party solar installations) as “upgrades” (ajakohastamine). This introduces the 51% rule, meaning housing associations can now move forward with installing rooftop solar panels with a 51% qualified majority vote instead of requiring unanimous approval.

As a next step, formal amendments to the Housing Associations Act are being proposed to permanently integrate this innovative service model into law.