The Croatian company Energy Shift, which has developed a web platform for citizens to jointly invest and co-own solar power plants, aims to finance its first projects by 2023, its founder told Montel on Tuesday.

As many as 1,400 EU citizens have already registered with the web platform and have expressed interest in investing EUR 3.5m.

When this is combined with financial institutions, such as banks and investment funds, the total registered investment potential of Energy Shift’s platform stands at EUR 10m, Filip Koprcina said in his e-mailed statement.

Around 55% of those registered on the platform and around 60% of the investment potential is from Croatia, but “interest from foreign investors is growing every month,” he added.

Founded in 2019, Energy Shift received the EU’s Sustainable Energy Award in 2021 for instigating an innovative project powered by blockchain technology that boosts solar energy production and democratises the green energy transition.

According to Koprcina, the start-up now has a list of projects that are ready for financing, although he did not provide many details.

“We are in the process of securing permits from regulatory bodies,” he said.

For the construction of these solar power plants, Energy Shift will establish partnerships with companies that install solar panels or develop energy projects.

The web platform offers citizen-investors a fixed return of 10-15% which is protected by power purchase agreements, the EU’s Sustainable Energy Awards website explains.

Although a special investment model for the corporate sector does not currently exist, Koprcina said it is an idea worth exploring since it would enable companies to get cheaper electricity at a fixed price.

Energy Shift’s goal is to become the biggest platform in Europe for investments in renewable energy sources and to facilitate more than HRK 1bn (EUR 133m) of citizen-based investments in solar energy by 2030.

Currently, its investment focus is on Southeast Europe. It is planning a 150 kW pilot project on the island of Cyprus and other solar projects in Greece and the Balkan region will follow.

Koprcina says that 1 GW of solar power plant projects in Europe are ready for financing. 


This article is available also in Slovene.