- Solar funds invest the accumulated capital of several investors in one or more solar plants. This allows private investors to participate in the renewable energy sector without having their own solar plant.
- The proceeds of a solar fund today come from several sources: long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), sales on the spot market and, for older plants, from expiring EEG subsidies. The expected return therefore depends on how electricity sales are structured and spread across locations and technologies.
- Open-ended solar funds offer regular redemption windows over the term, while the capital of closed-ended solar funds is tied up until the end of the term and cannot be easily sold.
- Pure solar investments are structurally particularly exposed to electricity price risk: Solar power plants all produce at the same time, thus pushing down prices exactly when their revenues should be at their highest - the so-called cannibalisation effect. Diversified renewable energy funds that combine solar with wind, electricity grids or battery storage smooth this profile and are considered a more robust solution.
- In addition to classic solar funds, private investors have other options for investing in solar energy, for example with solar equity funds, ELTIFs or crowdinvesting.
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The most important facts at a glance
Climate-friendly and stable: providers promise investors sunny prospective returns if they invest in solar energy. Funding renewable energies appears attractive to many. Where should solar investments be categorised in the spectrum of sustainable investments?
Germany is one of the countries in which the number of installed solar power plants increases significantly year on year. But not everyone has their own roof or space to build a small power plant themselves. Many investors are therefore wondering how they can still benefit from the energy transition.
As a result, the number and variety of offers for solar investments is increasing, which makes it confusing for retail investors, especially as transparency often leaves much to be desired: Exactly which assets are invested in? What returns are realistic? How safe is the investment? And what is truly clean energy?
This article highlights the opportunities and risks of solar funds. It provides clarity on how solar energy funds work and what alternatives there are to invest in the power of the sun.
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What are the risks of solar funds?
Anyone who wants to invest in solar plants with a closed-end solar fund is taking an entrepreneurial risk. Currently, the greatest risk lies in the marketing of the generated electricity. With the expiry of the state-guaranteed feed-in tariffs, new solar parks are increasingly dependent on the volatile electricity market. “Where guaranteed revenues used to attract, spot market prices, weather data and network capacities now determine the revenue side,” says Timo Werner, fund manager of klimaVest at Commerz Real.1
Werner also points to a technology-specific effect: On sunny days, many solar power plants push down the price of electricity precisely during the hours they produce themselves - down to negative prices. This cannibalisation reduces the average revenue per kilowatt hour of solar power.
There are several ways to counteract this. "As an investor, if you want to stabilise your returns, you have to think about new infrastructure: Power grids and battery storage are becoming key components of stable tangible asset portfolios," says Werner. Long-term PPAs secure fixed prices per kilowatt hour over ten to fifteen years, hybridisation combines solar with wind or battery storage on a grid connection and smooths the feed-in profiles. A broad spread across several production types and locations further reduces the vulnerability to cannibalisation. Pure solar funds only represent these levers to a limited extent. Diversified renewable energy funds that combine several technologies and locations have a structural benefit here.
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1Source: Timo Werner, “Solar Power and Agriculture in Harmony,” AnlegerPlus 10/2025, pp. 36–37
2Source: Timo Werner, “Why Grid Infrastructure and Storage Are Becoming Indispensable for Energy Investments,” Exxec News, August 29, 2025
3Source: Standard value established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: https://unfccc.int/climate-action/sectoral-engagement/ifis-harmonization-of-standards-for-ghg-accounting/ifi-twg-list-of-methodologies
4Source: Fraunhofer ISE, Public Electricity Generation 2024: Germany’s Electricity Mix Cleaner Than Ever, January 2025, https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/de/presse-und-medien/presseinformationen/2025/oeffentliche-stromerzeugung-2024-deutscher-strommix-so-sauber-wie-nie.html
5This list is not intended to be exhaustive; the questions in the checklist are provided for guidance only and do not constitute investment advice.
6Source: Dr. Nicole Arnold, “The Infinite Diversity of Renewables,” intelligent-investors.de, January 14, 2025
7Largest ELTIF / Market Leader in Germany: Scope ELTIF Study 2026, “Successful Mass Launch – Overview of the ELTIF Market 2025/2026,” as of December 31, 2025, published March 26, 2026, pages 2 and 9.
8Sources: BDEW Electricity Price Analysis, January 2026, https://www.bdew.de/service/daten-und-grafiken/bdew-strompreisanalyse/; Federal Network Agency, EEG feed-in tariffs for solar power plants effective February 1, 2026, https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Fachthemen/ElektrizitaetundGas/ErneuerbareEnergien/EEG_Foerderung/start.html
9Sources: BDEW Electricity Price Analysis, January 2026, https://www.bdew.de/service/daten-und-grafiken/bdew-strompreisanalyse/; Consumer Advice Center, Are Battery Storage Systems Worth It for Photovoltaic Systems?, as of 2026, https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/energie/erneuerbare-energien/lohnen-sich-batteriespeicher-fuer-photovoltaikanlagen-24589
10Source: Timo Werner, “Power Grids and Storage: The Key to the Next Phase of the Energy Transition,” AnlegerPlus 08/2025, pp. 36–37
11Source: Dr. Nicole Arnold, “Renewable Infrastructure Is Becoming More Diverse,” AnlegerPlus 04/2025
12Source: Consumer Advice Center, as of October 31, 2025, https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/geld-versicherungen/sparen-und-anlegen/eltifs-neue-anlageform-mit-tuecken-96375
13Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 26.04.2026, Dennis Kremer (Print-Ausgabe)
14Source: Consumer Advice Center, as of February 22, 2026, https://www.test.de/In-Gold-investieren-5308628-0/
15Source: Dr. Nicole Arnold, „Der Stabilitätsanker fürs Depot", AnlegerPlus 06/2025