Solar Energy for Apartment Buildings – opening the market for private investment

Existing legal frameworks make it difficult for housing associations to partner with private investors for the renovation of apartment buildings and the installation of solar panels. This, in turn, can leave residents without affordable, locally-produced renewable energy and stall the overall national transition toward sustainable energy solutions.

Accelerate Estonia, in collaboration with Sunly and the Ministry of Climate, is developing a model where energy companies renovate apartment building roofs and instal solar parks at no upfront cost to the housing associations. Residents can then purchase cheaper energy directly from their own roof via a Power Purchase Agreement. Success in this project will unlock private investment in the renovation market, lower the carbon footprint of housing, and transform energy cooperatives from a theoretical concept into a scalable reality.

Currently, housing associations do not have a clear legal pathway to partner with outside investors to effectively use this type of energy cooperation. A comprehensive legal analysis is in progress to determine how to modernise the legal requirements for third-party energy services in residential buildings. The analysis will identify whether legislative changes to the Housing Associations Act will be necessary to properly regulate this innovative service model.