Enpal responds to criticism of pricing model

The Berlin-based Unicorn rents out photovoltaic systems, among other things. This has been criticized by competitors - now the start-up is giving an insight into its pricing.

The Berlin-based unicorn Enpal has come under fire for its rental model of photovoltaic systems. Now the company is publicly justifying itself. Wolfgang Gründinger, who as "chief evangelist" is to make the brand better known, gave an account at Trending Topics the rental model. Accordingly, a 10-kWp system (kilowatt peak) including storage results in total acquisition costs of 30,410 euros. Plants up to 10kWp are exempt from business tax and are therefore considered reasonable for private households. After 20 years, i.e. when the customer takes over the previously rented plant, Enpal incurred total costs of 59,351 euros for such a plant. The costs for maintenance, service, insurance, repair, financing, as well as replacement of the storage and inverter result in this price. Gründinger bases his calculations on the figures from the price index of the German Solar Industry Association.

He contrasts this with the rental costs, which total 54,120 euros for this period: 212 euros per month for the first two years and 227 euros per month for the rest of the time. This rent is an inflation-protected fixed price, Gründinger says, which is another advantage for customers.

This calculation is a reaction to criticism from competitors such as Solarhelden from Munich and 1komma5° from Hamburg. They accused the Unicorn of overpriced goods - a PV system could also be bought for half the rental price. This dispute came to a head, especially between Solarhelden and Enpal. The companies are now communicating through lawyers.

Founded in 2017, the start-up Enpal said it made €400 million in revenue in 2022 and plans to continue growing. Most recently, the company raised 855 million euros in a financing round. Enpal intends to use the capital to pre-finance its booming business. Soon, 2,000 PV systems are to be installed.