New platform to facilitate the establishment of solar cooperatives
The Swiss Association for Solar Energy and the Association of Independent Energy Producers have initiated a new platform for the establishment of solar cooperatives. The aim of SolEctif is to provide start-ups with the means to establish themselves successfully.
The Swiss Solar Energy Society(SSES) and the Association of Independent Energy Producers(VESE) have launched the new SolEctif platform. According to a press release, the project aims to support solar cooperatives both with their foundation and with the next step, professionalisation.
Solar cooperatives in Switzerland play an important role in realising the energy transition with renewable energies. However, these organisations are mostly run on a voluntary basis and often face major financial or ownership problems that prevent them from installing and operating effective systems. With the support of SwissEnergy, SSES and VESE now want to accompany solar cooperatives on their way forward. With the SolEctif project, the partners are supporting the cooperatives in setting up new businesses, professionalising their operations and finding suitable roof areas.
The centrepiece of the platform is the handbook “How to set up and run a solar cooperative”, which can be downloaded free of charge or ordered as a print version for a fee. Here, interested parties can find out which obligations and processes need to be observed when setting up a cooperative. In addition, the first starter workshops will be held in Zurich Oerlikon in May 2024. From January 2024, interested parties will receive the new SolEctif newsletter every six months.