Digital automation company Schneider Electric and decentralized solar power company GreenYellow have joined hands to provide Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) microgrid solutions to European commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors across Europe ‘ahead of potential significant shortages in winter 2023-24 that may lead to a high risk of rolling blackouts’.

Their offering will include solar PV panels, battery energy storage system (BESS), electrical distribution, controls of the complete system and ongoing service of the microgrid. GreenYellow will operator the microgrid while Schneider will optimize it using operational data.

According to the arrangement reached, both the companies will target sectors as retail stores, logistics centers, commercial buildings, manufacturing plants, breweries, dairies, and the like to empower businesses control their energy costs and increase their energy security.

With no upfront costs to be borne by the beneficiaries, the duo will provide end-to-end support to small and medium sized businesses to integrate microgrids into their operations by assessing their load profiles, energy demand and supply structure along with tariff structure.

France, Spain, Portugal, and Eastern Europe is where the service will immediately start, to be expanded to Germany and some parts of Benelux and Nordics later.

Microgrids offer an alternative to sourcing grid electricity whose prices in the recent months have shot through the roof. The partners refer to French power prices reaching €900/MWh in August 2022, Spanish power bills reporting an annual jump of 70% with €158.26 to drive home the point. According to them microgrids also come in handy in times of grid outages or extreme weather events.

“PV generation has grown significantly and is on track to outperform the goal of reaching 430 GW by 2030,” said GreenYellow CEO Otmane Hajji. “With a quarter of that energy generated from roofs, parking lots and other assets belonging to commercial and industrial businesses, microgrids are a great way to optimize energy usage. And without upfront investment, it’s a win-win for most businesses.”