Client FAQs

General

Which contract types does ecoligo offer?

We offer you two types of contracts, depending on the regulations and laws of your country:

- Lease-to-own: With a lease to own contract you'll pay for the solar system for a set amount of time, and entirely own it afterwards.

- Power purchase agreement to own: With this contract, you agree to purchase the power at a set price over an agreed term, and we at ecoligo assume the risks associated with owning and operating the system.

What is a Solar-as-a-Service contract?

The Solar-as-a-Service (we refer to it as: SaaS) contract is direct reflection of how we do business at ecoligo. Our services include raising the necessary finance for the solar project, the construction and insurance of the solar system, scheduled maintenance, operations and management, which means we're a one stop shop for your solar or energy project. This type of contract means that ecoligo will provide the mentioned services for your company for the duration of the contract.

Why should my company work with ecoligo?

The ecoligo team has a shared passion: to stop climate change in its tracks. We hail from across the globe, using our diverse background and expertise to collaborate in our Berlin office, at project sites and in regional hubs across the globe.

We are a reliabile partner building professional relationships through transparency and our proactive customer support. We offer you a fully-financed solar or energy efficiency solution via a lease or power-purchase-agreement to tackle climate change as you reduce energy costs.

We cover the investment, and therefore allow you to build projects, where otherwise you might not have, due to lack of funds or financing.

Solar energy

How long do ecoligo contracts last?

Our contracts last between 3 to 25 years.
We structure our contracts based on our your needs, to help you reduce energy costs and gain an edge over your competitors.

Do I really not have to make an upfront payment?

Really! We cover all upfront costs of your system, so there is no need for any upfront payments.

Is the output of my grid-connected solar system sufficient to supply my entire business with electricity?

The solar system reduces the energy needed from the grid to run your business. During the day, a portion of the required energy will be provided by the Solar system. Additional demand exceeding the capacity will automatically be provided by the grid, with no need for any manual work.

How much exactly depends on the situation of your company on site, your electricity needs and the available space for a solar system.

How long does it take to build a solar project?

It takes us approximately 3 to 9 months from the contract signature to execute a solar project. Project duration varies based on the scope of work and the size of the solar system.

Do I immediately save money on my energy bills?

Absolutely. You'll see immediate savings in your energy bills once the system is built and generating energy. We only start invoicing our clients after the solar PV system is operational. Our clients report energy savings of up to 55%.

Will the weight of the solar panels affect my roof?

We conduct a thorough structural assessment on your existing roof, before the installation of the solar system, to ensure its load bearing capabilities.

If there is need for additional roof reinforcements before installation, these costs can be included in our project scope or you can choose to cover these costs yourself.

Will my solar system make me independent from the grid during the day?

Unfortunately, it isn't possible to be independent from the grid if you are running a grid connected system where your load requires a higher supply than what your solar PV system can supply. A grid connected solar system can only operate while the grid is operating, however, when the supply of energy from your solar system equals your energy demand, no energy will be drawn from the grid.

You need an energy storage system to be completely independent from the grid. We are happy to offer you a fully financed system.

Can my grid-connected solar system work, if the utility grid goes down?

If the solar system is integrated with a backup power source, like a battery storage system or a diesel generator, then it can keep running. For operation with a diesel generator, you need a hybrid controller, which we are happy to offer you.

Will the solar system remove existing delays when switching from grid power to the generator?

This is only possible if you also have a battery storage system.

In hybrid systems, the switch from grid power to the generator is still carried out by an automatic transfer switch (ATS). This switch results in power interruptions.

Even a hybrid controller cannot change this. The controller only regulates the energy management between the diesel generator and the solar system after a switch from grid power to generator power has already taken place.

Can a solar system replace my generator?

In combination with a battery storage system: Yes!

As a pure grid-connected solar system: No! Here you still need the grid or the diesel generator. However, the solar system replaces parts of the required electricity, thus reducing the costs for the grid electricity or diesel.

Energy in general

Is it true that ecoligo will supply all my energy and I won’t receive any utility bills anymore?

For a grid connected system (on-grid system), you will still need to pay some utility bills.

In the future, when your contract with ecoligo is over, you own the solar system, free to use the energy produced from it to your benefit, as you will no longer pay for it.

Who is paying for all system operations and maintenance?

Solar systems need regular maintenance to ensure maximum yield of solar energy. These scheduled operations and maintenance costs are factored in the monthly leasing/PPA amount that is provided in the SaaS contract. Maintenance activities vary from cleaning the solar panel with water to checking the room temperatures of the inverter semi-annually.

Unscheduled maintenance is sometimes necessary due to unforeseen events. ecoligo will charge for unscheduled maintenance in cases of negligence whereas issues caused by third parties are covered by insurance.

How do I know that the system is performing optimally throughout the contract term?

Our systems include remote monitoring available 24/7 by an intelligent monitoring system, allowing you and our team to check system performance at any time. This makes it easy for you to share with other business partners how much you have already saved and the impact you've made. We'll also share monthly performance reports with you, showing how much energy was generated and how much you used.

What is an unscheduled maintenance event?

An unscheduled maintenance event is a reactive event in the case of system failures.
There are clearly defined processes that ensure minimum response time in the case of a failure. Reactive activities and the promised response time and scope of the service is also outlined in your SaaS contract. Pricing is based on defined hourly rates for the engineer and/or technician plus reimbursement of reasonable travel costs.

Contracts

When should I start paying for the system based on my contract?

We only start invoicing our clients after the system is operational. We can guarantee that you do not have to make a single payment until the project is fully installed and operational.

Do you apply VAT on your customer invoices?

All of the prices agreed within our Solar as a Service agreements are exclusive of Value-Added Taxes, as these are specific to each country we operate in. Our invoices of course include the locally required VAT as per country regulation. Other local taxation is also applied in accordance with the law.

In our savings projections, we also compare our cost with the cost for the utility power without VAT. This way, we can ensure that the savings still apply, as we provide an apples to apples comparison.

Is there a fixed exchange rate applied to the contract value?

No, we use the monthly average exchange rate of the European Commission for the month of the invoice period.

Do you offer local currency-based contracts?

The contracts we offer are in EUR or USD. The electricity grid prices typically have a “foreign exchange rate levy”, meaning that the utility tariff that businesses are paying today, is already linked to USD. Therefore in comparison to the utility tariff, EUR or USD based contracts offer the same discount.

In case of markets where regulations don't allow a EUR or USD contract, ecoligo provides local currency contracts instead.

What happens to my contract if the utility price changes?

This depends on your contract and the nature of the change.

When the price increases and you have a fixed price contract you will be saving more. The tariff agreed with ecoligo remains the same, but the gap to the utility tariff will increase.

If you have a floating price contract the price of the contract with ecoligo will increase in accordance with the defined float in percentage, until it reaches the ceiling.

When the price decreases and you have a fixed price contract you will be saving less by partially relying on solar power – but you will still be saving. The tariff agreed with ecoligo remains the same.

If you have a floating price contract the price of the contract with ecoligo will decrease in accordance with the defined float in percentage, until it reaches the floor.

What happens with the solar system when my contract with ecoligo ends?

The ownership of the solar system is automatically transferred to you and you become the proud owner of the system. You can start taking full advantage of the energy produced by it.

What happens if I want to purchase the system during the contract period?

A purchase is possible after the first year of operation. As a customer, you can purchase the system at it's remaining value.

When will I as a client own the system?

We work closely with you to define the solar system and payment plan that perfectly matches your needs.

The contract duration can vary between 3 and 35 years, depending on your choice.
Once the SaaS contract with ecoligo is over, you will automatically own the solar system.

I already have a solar system. Can you help me sell it?

If you wish to sell your existing system, we can support you.
Through our buy-back programme we allow you to transition your asset into a PPA or leasing contract.

This contract enables you to pay only for the energy you consume from the solar system. The benefit for you: You turn your asset into cash.

Which type of companies can get your solution?

We welcome any business or NGO in an emerging market who is interested
in lowering it's energy bills and switching to solar power. We currently work with businesses in a variety of industries including manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and more.

What is the difference between a bank loan that I can get as business owner for a solar system and the ecoligo offer?

ecoligo's pricing includes not only the cost of capital (which is the interest you pay to the bank), but also the cost for maintenance, system monitoring and asset insurance.

Further, with our performance guarantee we ensure that you only pay, if the solar system is operational and providing you with energy. Instead, a bank requests payments for their loan irrespective of whether the solar system is up and running or not – possibly risking your energy savings potential.

If you choose to work with a bank, you will need to take care of all monitoring, maintenance and insurance yourself, distracting you from your core business goals and adding extra costs.

Lastly, a bank loan typically restricts your business's ability to borrow more money at a later stage, since a loan already shows up as long-term liability on your balance sheet. The ecoligo contract instead counts as operational expense, thereby reducing your taxable income and providing further tax benefits than a loan.

Partner FAQs

Benefits

Does ecoligo bring new clients to existing or new EPC partners?

Yes, we typically inquire with EPC partners to provide us proposals for
solar projects.

As an EPC company why should I work with ecoligo on clients looking for a finance solution?

We invest on long-term partnerships that can both finance and build your client's project. With our professional attitude and proactive customer service we continuously elevate the services for our clients through our cost saving energy solutions. A partnership with ecoligo is a long term relationship built upon trust and share values.

These ideas are also reflected on our EPC Partner Programme, where our EPC partners get a tiered system ranging from Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum up to Diamond.

The longer you get to work with us and the more projects we build together we unlock a series of new opportunities for you.

Contracts

Do I have to bring every client to ecoligo?

No, you are free to work with other investors.

Can I get any development expenses covered?

No, it is not possible for us to cover any development expenses as part of our collaboration.

Can I get a maintenance contract on the projects that my company has built?

Yes, ecoligo prefers to work with EPC companies as maintenance service providers.

What type of contracts does ecoligo use?

We work with local, qualified and experienced partners to maintain and install our solar systems. There are two main contracts we use for our EPC partners, the EPC contract and the O&M contract.

We do not work with offers and purchase orders, but require EPC partners to work
under our above contracts. If you have more questions abour our partners and types of contracts. please contact us at [email protected].

What do I need to provide to get an project offer from ecoligo?

For us to assess a project, we need a project information document to be filled out.
Please contact us at [email protected] and our team will provide this document.

Process

Can any EPC company work with ecoligo?

Yes, in principal we are open to work with any EPC company. Every EPC partner is thoroughly evaluated through our qualification process before we begin working together.

How can I become an ecoligo partner and what is ecoligo’s role in the projects?

To become a partner, we want to see that you have a track record in building successful solar or energy efficiency projects. We work only with high quality partners with proven references from previously assigned projects.

On our projects, we are the investor, owner and operator of the system. For maintenance during the contract period with our clients, we typically engage with the EPC company to ensure full performance to our clients.

If you would like to work with us, please fill in our partnership form here.

What is it like to work with ecoligo?

By working with us, you join a committed and stellar partner, building strong, professional relationships. Our team consists of passionate, friendly and determined colleagues ready to tackle any challenge to support your success.

Together, we are investing into the solar projects. We are partners but we are also your client, meaning that we pay you according to the project milestones achieved.

Which type of projects can you invest in?

We are focusing primarily on Commercial & Industrial (C&I) rooftop solar and energy efficiency projects for business like: malls, office buildings, factories, hotels, resorts, farms and more. We invest both in on-grid as well as off-grid projects, but we are always open to review requests for offers on a case by case basis.

Overall, we are fully flexible in terms of the industries we operate in, but it is very important that the companies we work with comply with our ESG policy and that they are fully registered as company or NGO.

What size projects can ecoligo invest in?

We can invest in projects as little as 50 kWp. There is no limit for a maximum project size.

Are there any types of projects you can't invest in?

We do not invest in the followig types of projects: utility scale projects, feed-in tariff based projects, household systems, solar lights and community minigrid projects.

Which countries are in ecoligo’s regional focus?

We currently have offices in Vietnam, Ghana, Kenya, Costa Rica and Chile.

From these offices, we are active in the regions of Latin America,
The Caribbean, West Africa, East Africa, and South East Asia.

Any project in these regions could be of interest to us for the
opportunity to support local companies by making renewable energy accessible.

What are the type of technologies that you can finance?

When it comes to electricity generation, we can invest into the following technologies:

- Solar PV
- Solar PV + hybrid controller
- Solar PV + energy storage
(all of the above on-grid as well as off-grid)

Do you use technology from any supplier/vendor?

We have a list of approved suppliers/vendors that our EPC partners need to comply to.

However, if a specific supplier/vendor is suggested by one of our EPC partners, we can qualify and add them on our approved supplier and vendor list, as long as they comply with our ESG policy and pass our qualification process.

Do you have a standard documentation process for your projects?

Yes, to simplify the process we have kept our documentation standard and transparent. There is a set of documents that we need during project design, commissioning and maintenance.

The design documents we require are generated by commercial software in industry standards and standard templates for commissioning are provided by ecoligo.

We do this to ensure the highest quality standards for our clients.

Get in touch

If you have questions and can't find the answers, need technical support or have something to share with us just reach out and we'll get back to you right away.