Two friends in Luxembourg have created a start-up to enable people to cut their energy bills by connecting solar power owners with electricity users.<\/p>\n
The start-up, called WattSwap, was created because normally when solar panels produce more electricity than is needed for a household, the excess is sold to the electricity grid operator \u201cfor peanuts\u201d, according to founders Tom Bosseler and Pierre Pirotte. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe make it possible to share electricity, from north to south,\u201d said Bosseler. <\/p>\n
Their business concept is based on energy communities – associations of stakeholders who jointly generate, consume or sell electricity. <\/p>\n
The WattSwap platform features like a traditional marketplace, connecting members of the public seeking to buy cheaper electricity and people who operate solar panels but who do not want to sell their surplus electricity too cheaply.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe owners of the solar power plants are not happy about how cheaply they have to sell their surplus electricity compared to how expensive it is on the electricity market,\u201d the entrepreneurs said.<\/p>\n
The idea is that through the platform, the producer receives a higher selling price than they would selling the electricity surplus to grid operators and the consumer can reduce their electricity bill slightly. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe connect buyers and sellers directly within the energy community, which is why prices are lower,\u201d said Pirotte.<\/p>\n
To ensure price advantages from both electricity sellers and buyers the company bases their prices on market rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur price is always above the market price the producer receives, and for the consumer it is always below,\u201d Pirotte explained.<\/p>\n
The pair have been friends since primary school, went to the same university and even share a flat. They know each other \u201cinside out\u201d according to Bosseler.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur friendship has already weathered a lot, so we can also overcome hurdles in day-to-day business,\u201d Pirotte added.<\/p>\n