Selling a running solar plant: what you have to consider

Whether (small) roof-top plant or (large) free-standing plant, the investment in a running solar plant can have ecological, fiscal or yield backgrounds. However, there are several points to consider for a photovoltaic investment. The following tips give you an overview over important aspects of choosing and buying the right solar investment.

Topic overview:

• Which solar investment is right for me?
• How do I find the right solar investment?
• What do I have to consider buying a running solar plant?
• How do I finance my solar investment?

1. Which solar investment is right for me?

To invest in a running solar plant offers security. Through the hitherto operation of the plant and the government-guaranteed feed-in tariff, the earnings of a solar plant are known. The current value and the expected yield can be precisely determined. This allows planning reliability and enables investors to exactly calculate their investments. Depending on the volume of the planned investment, the type of solar plant play a decisive role. Solar roof-top plants are usually small due to the limited area available. They are therefore ideal for an investment in the range between 50.000 and one million euros. In contrast, free-standing solar plants exist in sizes up to the double-digit megawatt range. This type of running solar plant is suitable for major solar investments starting at one million euros.

2. How do I find the right solar investment?

At Milk the Sun, you can find the right solar plant using your personal search criteria. Whether a certain size, a predefined price range or a specific region: Milk the Sun helps you finding a solar investment that meets your needs. Through our search mask, you can change all relevant settings. Through our newsletter, we inform you weekly on new photovoltaic offers on our PV marketplace. Subscribe to our newsletter here. In case the right photovoltaic plant is not among them for once, we gladly start to actively search for you and inform you on new offers that meet your criteria.

3. What do I have to consider buying a running PV system?

Buying a solar plant, many factors must be considered. These range from the condition and the yield of the plant to the technical data and complete documentation. To control these factors, we advise you to authorise an independent service provider who we gladly suggest to you.

3.1 Before the purchase:

Milk the Sun endeavours to only offer ideally documented and verified solar plants. For each plant, we check the completeness and plausibility of the information. Only then do we accept the solar plant for the publication on our portal. Milk the Sun thereby provides you with the basis for an efficient transaction preparation.

3.2 Inspection/purchase

For the inspection and the technical and commercial „due diligence“, we advise you to authorise independent service providers. Milk the Sun gladly assists you with a far-reaching partner network of surveyors, evaluators, lawyers and tax consultants.

4. How do I finance my solar investment?

Basically, there are two ways to finance solar projects. The most common way is project financing (cash flow-based non-recourse financing), where the redemption of the borrowed financing resources is completely covered by the expected future yields (cash flow). For the project financing of solar plants, the bank provides its loans based on free liquid funds, the complete collateralisation of the photovoltaic plant and its yields. The amount of the debt financing share is mainly based on the liquidity surplus of the photovoltaic plant that can be used for the loan amortisation. Usually, a debt financing rate of 70 to 85 percent is used. Alternatively, the house bank can base the photovoltaic financing on the personal solvency and the provision of special securities.