Investing in solar fundsWhat to consider when investing in solar power

Time to read12 min.

updated at06/10/2026

CategoryRenewable energy investments

A tractor ploughs a field between rows of solar panels from a bird’s-eye view.

Loading component...

The most important facts at a glance

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.

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.

Solar funds: everything you need to know when investing in solar power

How solar energy works

Photovoltaic (PV) converts incoming sunlight directly into electricity. PV systems are particularly popular in Europe. Three things are needed to convert the power of the sun into usable energy:

solar cells that can be combined to form modules and entire photovoltaic systems – and a suitable surface for
the power grid which absorbs and transports the DC energy generated by means of inverters,
Sunlight, which also occurs in cloudy conditions, but not at night, and is significantly reduced in snow or persistently cloudy weather

In solar thermal power generation (solar thermal energy in a broader sense), the heat of sunlight is concentrated in order to heat a carrier medium (e.g. air, oil or water) and thus drive a turbine for power generation. Thermal conversion is more worthwhile in regions with a lot of sun and few clouds, such as the deserts of Africa.

What is agri photovoltaics?

Agri-Photovoltaics (Agri-PV) combines agriculture and electricity generation on the same area. Specific carrier systems with optimised heights and spacings allow the arable plants to photosynthesise. In hot years, intermittent shade can even stabilise the harvest.

Demand is growing rapidly. Figures from the Fraunhofer Institute show that the global output of agri-PV systems increased from 5 megawatt peak (MWp) in 2012 to more than 14,000 MWp in 2020. For Germany alone, the technical potential is 1.7 terawatts peak, 120 times the power currently installed worldwide.¹

What are the benefits of Agri-PV for investors?

Agri-PV offers two benefits:

Tight areas can be used much more efficiently because the same area generates two yields.
Shading stabilises harvest yields during hot years while strengthening biodiversity and social acceptance in the local community.

“This flexibility maximises area efficiency without significantly restricting agricultural production,” says Timo Werner, fund manager of klimaVest at Commerz Real. “Research projects in Germany and Europe show that, for example, berry shrubs and vegetable species under agri-PV shade often have a higher quality and resilience against drought or bad weather.”¹

Practical example: Agri-PV project in klimaVest’s portfolio

One of Germany’s largest agri-PV parks is currently being built in Schönefeld near Berlin. "klimaVest secured the project early on in the planning phase. It combines agriculture, electricity generation and biodiversity on the same area and shows how agriculture and the energy transition can go hand in hand," says Timo Werner, fund manager of klimaVest at Commerz Real¹. For another solar park in the klimaVest portfolio, the meadow under the elevated modules serves as pasture for the sheep herd of a local breeder.

For its investors, klimaVest thus enables access to a new market segment with growth potential, which offers additional diversification and new opportunities in the fund portfolio.

Find out more about Agri-PV at klimaVest

Loading component...

How do investors make money with solar parks?

Solar farms generate their income in three ways: through guaranteed EEG feed-in tariffs, through long-term power purchase agreements with large customers (PPAs) and through direct sales on the spot market. The path that dominates has fundamentally shifted in recent years.

In Germany, the Renewable Energies Act (EEG) has been ensuring since 2002 that electricity from renewable sources has priority for feed-in to the grid and that producers receive remuneration per kilowatt-hour (kWh) fed in.

But the model is undergoing a revolution. "The state funding phase of the energy transition is coming to an end. More and more wind and solar plants are losing their guaranteed remuneration and have to assert themselves in the volatile electricity market," says Timo Werner, fund manager of klimaVest at Commerz Real.² For new solar parks, spot market prices and PPAs currently determine the earnings situation. With PPAs, industrial customers or energy suppliers secure solar power for ten to fifteen years at a fixed price. This creates planning security on both sides and stabilises revenues for solar farm operators.

Each kWh generated with photovoltaics avoids the emission of around 523 g of greenhouse gas emissions³ that would otherwise have arisen in the average German electricity mix with its high proportion of fossil energies such as oil, coal and gas.

Photovoltaics covered around 14 percent of Germany’s net public electricity generation in 2024, making it the second most important power source after wind power.⁴

What is a solar fund?

A solar fund pools the capital of many investors to finance and operate solar parks. Investors do not need their own roof or property to participate in the income from solar energy. With this form of environmental investment, several private individuals and companies generally finance a solar park together. Usually, the modules are located on a larger area and are connected to the grid as one power plant.

A financial investment in solar funds goes into the construction and operation of several solar systems, which can be located in Germany as well as in other countries. A return can be generated by marketing the generated electricity (via EEG feed-in tariffs, PPAs or spot market) as well as via the long-term performance of the assets. This is particularly useful when the solar power plants are large and have a long runtime - i.e. through economies of scale and long-term investments.

Closed-end and open-end solar funds

Closed-end solar funds are initially opened when they are launched. Individuals and companies can combine their money during a fixed investment period ("subscription period"). With their direct business participation in solar parks, investors acquire shares. These are often limited partnership interests in a joint company, which is organised in the legal form of GmbH & Co. KG (limited partnership with limited liability).

Many citizen solar parks are also organised in this way: investors become limited partners. As soon as a certain equity ratio has been reached with investors’ individual investments and the planned solar power plant is thus fully financed, the fund will be closed. Further deposits are no longer necessary or possible in such a closed-end fund.

Closed-end funds are allocated to alternative investment funds (AIFs); the units cannot be traded on the stock exchange. This makes investing capital less speculative, but also less flexible if investors want to get their money back before the contractually set, usually long-term holding period.

Open-ended solar funds, on the other hand, are traded on the stock exchange as investment funds. Those who invest in solar energy via an open-end solar fund can buy and sell their units daily.

Here, investors do not specifically invest in the construction and operation of certain projects such as solar parks, but in shares of companies active in the solar industry. This includes manufacturers of solar cells, solar modules and inverters, consultants, service providers, and solar system builders and operators. As share prices can fluctuate in value, a holding period of eight to ten years is recommended despite daily trading.

The impact on sustainable projects is rather indirect in this form of investment. After all, buying such an exchange-traded security usually does not let money flow from the financial economy into the real economy, but rather to the previous owner of the share certificates.

If the stock market price rises, the companies in the fund’s portfolio may receive light loans from banks due to their higher value. However, it is up to them whether they really finance sustainable projects and business models within the company - investors do not have any transparency about this.

In addition, you will also continue to hold all the usual risks of stock market investments in the portfolio.

The opportunities and benefits of solar funds

Anyone who is directly involved in the construction and operation of a solar power plant invests in tangible assets. If you choose to do so, you will become an entrepreneur and co-owner of solar parks and actively contribute to the energy transition.

Photovoltaics delivers clean electricity without greenhouse gas emissions during operation - at ever-decreasing costs. The power requirement is usually highest at noon: just when the sun is shining the brightest. The power peaks of the solar systems therefore usually coincide with the peaks in demand on the power grid.

Overall, demand for electricity will increase – and the need for green energy in particular. Germany has decided to phase out both nuclear power and coal power, and renewable energy is expected to fill the gap. Other countries are also increasingly relying on energy production from renewable sources in order to become more independent of expensive oil or natural gas and coal imports and diesel generators, for example.

The returns of solar funds

The return on solar parks and thus solar funds can usually be calculated well: Existing plants often continue to benefit from the EEG remuneration guaranteed for over 20 years. In new solar parks, long-term electricity purchase agreements with large customers (PPAs) often secure a fixed price per kilowatt hour for ten to fifteen years, thus ensuring predictable yields.

The fact that annual fluctuations in solar radiation are rather low also ensures stable income – electricity revenues can therefore be easily predicted.

As tangible assets, green investments in solar energy are largely independent of capital market fluctuations, inflation, exchange rate risks or economic cycles, especially as the energy generated can primarily be fed into the grid and thus always finds its way to the electricity market. The sophisticated technology is controllable and reliable, which means low maintenance and insurance premiums.

With all these foundations for a calculation, fund companies can draw up relatively reliable return plans. Solar funds are therefore well-suited as an addition to a diversified portfolio.

A holding in a solar fund offers good potential returns, but it also poses a significant business risk.

Loading component...

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.

Loading component...

Possible risk factors of solar funds

1. Electricity price risk
If many solar plants produce at the same time, the price of electricity on the spot market falls (cannibalisation effect).
2. Electricity marketing risk
With the expiration of government subsidies, revenue must be actively generated in the market, for example through spot market sales or long-term supply contracts (PPAs).
3. Long-term capital commitment
Solar funds are usually tied up for years, exiting before the end of the term is only possible to a limited extent.
4. Supply chain risk
Global module production is heavily concentrated in China. Trade conflicts or export restrictions can delay and cost construction projects.
5. Weather risk
Yields fluctuate with sunlight. In a year with little sunshine, revenues are lower.
6. Total loss
In the worst-case scenario, the total loss of the deposit is possible for closed forms of participation. Amounts already paid may also be recovered under certain circumstances.
7. Transparency and provider quality
With opaque fund structures or inexperienced providers, the risk of poor selection decisions is particularly high.

Loading component...

Electricity price risk and cannibalisation

With the expiration of the state-guaranteed feed-in tariffs for existing systems, new solar parks are increasingly dependent on the volatile electricity market. Spot market prices and grid capacities determine the earnings situation, long-term PPAs can partially cushion this volatility.

However, with a high simultaneous feed-in of many solar plants, market prices fall precisely during the hours of production. This so-called cannibalisation can reduce average revenues per kilowatt hour and is one of the most frequently underestimated risks in solar investments today.

Pure and geographically concentrated solar funds are structurally particularly exposed to this logic because their investments all produce at the same time of day. Renewable energy funds that combine solar with wind or battery storage and spread across several locations smooth out this feed-in profile and are therefore less susceptible to cannibalisation effects.

Shift in marketing logic

Renewable energies have not always had it easy in day-to-day politics. In the past, countries had to reduce feed-in tariffs, which in turn led to return losses – in some cases also retroactively.

Meanwhile, renewable energies have secured a firm place in the electricity industry, but the state subsidy backdrop plays a smaller role for new projects. They are replaced by long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) and direct sales on the electricity market. This shifts the risk: from policy cuts to the question of how reliably marketing revenues can be calculated over the life of an investment.

Long-term capital commitment

Closed-end funds do not allow the shares to be sold before the end of the fixed term, which is usually eight to twelve years. It is sometimes possible to sell via the secondary market, but significant losses can be incurred here.

Technology and supply chains

Individual projects may experience technical problems or delays in procurement. For example, there have already been phases in which the silicon required for solar cells was scarce or components such as transistors experienced bottlenecks. This can delay the start-up of the plant, resulting in loss of yield.

In addition, there is a strong concentration of global PV production in a few supplier countries, especially China. Political tensions or trade tariffs can therefore have a direct impact on module prices and availability.

Weather/forces of nature

Uncalculated weather phenomena and natural disasters such as storms, floods and earthquakes or simply low solar radiation can reduce the expected return on solar farms.

Total loss

Investing money in a solar fund that invests in one or more solar parks is usually a direct investment in companies. Accordingly, the co-owners are involved in both potential opportunities and risks. This can lead to the complete loss of the capital invested.

Obligation to pay an additional contribution

Some forms of participation stipulate that investors, as entrepreneurs, also have to “supplement” capital from their private assets if the project is not running well - for example, if unplanned investments in new technology have to be made.

Exchange rate risks

When investing in foreign funds outside the eurozone, the fluctuation of the exchange rate may pose a risk.

Political risks

Especially when it comes to solar funds that invest in non-European solar parks, the politically or legally opaque situation can lead to difficulties. This includes an unstable situation due to internal conflicts or wars, changes in the legal system or even bureaucratic obstacles.

Transparency/management/unreliable fund managers or operators

A lack of transparency in offers and poor management of projects can become a problem. If prospectuses are not meaningful, fund managers are unreliable, operators are inexperienced, or reports on the development of investments are incomplete, investors find it difficult to assess their investment in solar energy for safety, profitability and climate protection contribution.

Compared to other closed-end funds, investing in solar funds is relatively less risky. Nevertheless, the risks mentioned above can lead to investors losing their money and having little prospect of claiming compensation.

Open-end solar funds that are traded on the stock exchange also harbour risks. The solar stock market made negative headlines due to the bankruptcies or price crashes of individual manufacturers of solar modules.

Loading component...

Checklist: What questions to ask about solar funds, among other things

The fund prospectus contains information on economic data such as investment volume, maturity and earnings prospects, as well as technical data such as the capacity and output of the solar systems.

If you are dealing with solar funds, it is advisable to check the following questions ⁵:

How long-term is the investment?
As a rule, an investment in solar funds is invested for at least eight years, sometimes even 30 years. Determine whether you can do without the money for such a period of time. It is often not possible to sell the solar park investment earlier or only at a significant loss.

What is included in the calculation?
What income and returns are forecast for the solar investment? Are there additional costs (e.g. initial charge/premium, fees for concept, sales, maintenance, repair, decommissioning)?

Are the locations of the planned solar systems mentioned?
Solar funds with blind pools do not mention the exact locations, which makes it difficult for you to assess the chances of success – whether in view of the time of solar irradiation, natural disasters or political risks such as unrest or expropriation.

What can lead to a loss of electricity yield?
Factors that can lead to lower yields should be analysed in more detail. What is the quality of the planned systems? How much and how often did the predicted and the actual values of solar irradiation quantity and intensity differ from one another in the past?

How is electricity sales secured?
How many of the plants still benefit from a state-guaranteed feed-in tariff and how long does it last? What proportion of the electricity generated is covered by long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with large customers? And how large is the share sold directly on the volatile spot market?
Guarantees and assurances should also ensure that revenues will flow even if the systems experience technical failures or if there are delays in commissioning.

What information is available about the fund management?
Information about the fund company can be informative – e.g. their experience with successful or even less successful projects in the area of renewable energy.

What is the financing ratio?
To what extent is the project financed using external funds? The more commitments from lenders there are already, the higher their confidence in the success of the project appears to be – this can be a good sign.

Loading component...

Interim summary: Are solar funds suitable for private investors?

Solar funds are only suitable to a limited extent for private investors. Anyone who wants to invest in solar energy with a solar fund makes an entrepreneurial investment that does not seem very attractive to security-oriented investors due to long maturities, possible total losses and today’s high dependence on the volatile electricity market. Knowledge is also needed to thoroughly assess potential investments.

But in principle, solar power is a sustainable form of energy generation. For a long time now, renewable energies have no longer been referred to as “alternative energies”, as the energy transition itself seems to be without alternatives: In view of climate change and natural loss, clean solar energy belongs to the future. Investors therefore need broader ways to participate in the growth of renewable energies - for example, through funds that spread weather and electricity price risk across multiple technologies and regions. “Broad diversification makes renewable property portfolios resilient and supports long-term stable and attractive risk/return profiles,” writes Dr Nicole Arnold, Member of the Management Board of Commerz Real.⁶

Loading component...

Alternatives – how to participate in solar parks and invest in solar energy

As with other financial investments, the various forms of investment in solar systems also have advantages and disadvantages that investors must assess for their individual case.

Solar equity funds

In a solar equity fund, the shares in various companies in the solar industry are bundled into one fund. In such a thematic fund, the risk is more diversified than when investing in individual shares.

For actively managed equity funds, fund managers select and weight equities. This saves investors time, but corresponding fees are payable. This type of investment has no influence on the direct expansion of solar parks and other renewable energy sources.

European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs)

The ELTIF is a European investment fund that opens up access to tangible investments in the real economy for retail investors. Unlike a solar equity fund that invests in shares of companies in the solar industry, the capital in an ELTIF flows directly into real projects - i.e. the construction and operation of solar parks, wind farms, power grids or battery storage systems. At least 55 per cent of the fund assets must flow into such qualified investments in tangible assets in accordance with EU requirements.

For investors who want to invest in solar energy, this design has several benefits over traditional solar funds:

The income comes from ongoing electricity sales, long-term electricity purchase agreements and feed-in tariffs and is spread over several plants and locations instead of being dependent on individual solar parks.
Unlike pure solar funds, ELTIFs can combine solar with wind, electricity grids or battery storage.
They are strictly regulated by an EU regulation and offer uniform investor protection across all Member States.
In semi-liquid form, they enable regular redemption windows over the term, while the capital is tied up until the end of the term for closed solar funds.

As tangible asset investments, ELTIFs can thus be both a source of return and a stabilising element in the custody account. The focus of the ELTIF market in Germany is clearly on infrastructure and renewable energies: By the end of 2025, infrastructure accounted for around 60 percent of the German ELTIF volume.

With around 36.8 percent of the German ELTIF volume, Commerz Real’s klimaVest ELTIF is the largest product on the local market and invests mainly in European solar and wind farms as well as electricity transmission networks, and in the future also in storage solutions.⁷

Solar bonds

With bonds, solar companies receive loans from investors and pay them a fixed interest rate in return. These regular distributions provide planning certainty.

On the other hand, as a lender, there is less transparency about the performance of the investment. There is often no market for trading bonds, so the financial instrument is relatively inflexible.

Crowdinvesting in solar energy

In crowdinvesting, many investors ("crowd") participate financially in a project - e.g. the construction of a solar park. The return is usually paid out as interest. It is often possible to invest amounts from as little as 100 euros via online platforms. The contracts between the project company and the investor are often arranged as profit participation certificates or subordinated loans.

Profit participation rights are securitised in a profit participation certificate: The security entitles investors to participate in profits and proceeds in the event of the dissolution of a company (liquidation). Such contracts can have very different structures in terms of interest, profit distribution, repayment and rights. There is no right to have a say and, in the event of insolvency, beneficial owners are only in turn after all other creditors.

In subordinated loans, investors receive relatively high interest on the loan they grant to the solar project or company. However, there are relatively high risks - in the event of insolvency, investors are served subordinately to all other creditors.

Cooperatives

In a cooperative, investors become co-entrepreneurs or co-owners through their contribution. These companies are often deeply rooted in their region. Each member has a say, regardless of the amount invested. This has advantages (democratic investment form), but can also lead to protracted coordination processes. An experienced management team is also crucial here.

Investing in solar power systems: Covering own needs

Another way you can invest money in solar energy is to invest in solar systems for your own needs. Photovoltaic systems do not actively build up wealth, but you can optimise your costs.

The economic leverage has shifted in recent years: Whereas the state feed-in tariff used to be the decisive factor, today it is primarily self-consumption. Every kilowatt hour consumed saves the full gross electricity price of currently around 36 cents. The feed-in tariff for new partial feed-in systems up to 10 kWp, on the other hand, is only 7.86 cents per kilowatt hour.⁸

Keep an eye on the purchase costs: Conventional PV systems in detached houses have a size of 8-15 kWp and pay for themselves after approx. 9 to 13 years. If you also opt for an electricity storage system, the payback period will increase to an average of 12 to 18 years. But in the end, you also save more electricity costs. Storage units increase the self-consumption rate from around 30 percent to up to 70 percent.⁹

Loading component...

Frequently asked questions about investing in solar energy

Solar investments are neither particularly safe nor particularly risky. They move in a medium risk/return profile. As tangible asset investments, they are largely independent of equity markets and economic cycles. At the same time, however, they are more dependent than before on electricity prices, weather and grid capacities, as the market price increasingly takes on the role of the state guarantee with the expiry of the EEG remuneration.

The actual level of risk therefore depends heavily on the construction of the individual fund: Pure solar funds with geographically concentrated investments are more vulnerable, while diversified renewable energy funds with multiple locations and technologies significantly smooth out the profile.

Yes, but with a change of sign. With the expiry of the state-guaranteed feed-in tariffs for older systems, solar parks lose their most important guarantee of income and 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.¹⁰

Two main mechanisms replace feed-in tariffs: long-term electricity purchase agreements with large customers, so-called PPAs, secure fixed prices per kilowatt hour over ten to fifteen years. In addition, part of the electricity is sold directly on the spot market, where prices fluctuate throughout the day. The attractiveness of a solar investment today therefore depends more than ever on how electricity sales are structured. Solar investments that hedge a large part of their revenues through PPAs and smooth the feed-in profile through hybridisation with wind or battery storage can achieve stable cash flows even without EEG remuneration.

A combination of solar and wind is usually the more robust solution. "Grid capacities can be utilised better and, above all, more evenly by combining different types of generation, such as wind and photovoltaics, at one connection point. We are talking about hybridisation," writes Dr Nicole Arnold, Managing Director of Commerz Real.¹¹

Pure solar investments are heavily dependent on sunlight and time of day, which pushes down market prices and reduces revenue on sunny days. Wind power follows a different weather and day profile: Windy days are often cloudy, while low-wind high-pressure locations are sunny. Solar and wind thus complement each other.

Broadly positioned renewable energy funds combine both and go one step further. They distribute their solar and wind farms across several countries, supplement them with infrastructure such as electricity grids or battery storage, and mix different forms of marketing such as PPAs, spot market and feed-in tariffs. This multiple spread makes it more stable than the sum of individual wind and solar investments.

Solar investments are a tangible asset. Your income comes from the ongoing sale of electricity, i.e. from the real operation of the solar parks, not from price gains as with equities. As a result, they are largely independent of fluctuations on the capital markets and can stabilise the portfolio in turbulent stock market periods. Regular cash flows can be better planned.

There is no fixed percentage for solar funds. However, comparable material value additions provide orientation: For ELTIFs, the consumer central bank states a size of around 5 percent of the assets, while the rating agency Scope sets 10 percent as the upper limit.¹²¹³ A similar range of around 5 to 10 percent also applies to gold as a general rule of thumb.¹⁴ Solar funds follow the same logic: They are a tangible asset component and belong to the portfolio as a supplementary position, not as a main investment.

“In addition, tangible assets such as real estate, infrastructure or renewable energy investments provide an ideal complement to liquid securities such as shares or bonds,” writes Dr Nicole Arnold, Member of the Management Board of Commerz Real.¹⁵ The amount in each individual case depends on the individual risk profile, investment horizon and the rest of the portfolio.

Loading component...

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

Investing in solar fundsWhat to consider when investing in solar power

Loading component...

Contents

Loading component...

The most important facts at a glance

Solar funds: everything you need to know when investing in solar power

How solar energy works

What is agri photovoltaics?

Loading component...

How do investors make money with solar parks?

What is a solar fund?

Closed-end and open-end solar funds

The opportunities and benefits of solar funds

The returns of solar funds

Loading component...

What are the risks of solar funds?

Loading component...

Possible risk factors of solar funds

Loading component...

Loading component...

Checklist: What questions to ask about solar funds, among other things

Loading component...

Interim summary: Are solar funds suitable for private investors?

Loading component...

Tordesillas solar farm: This is how klimaVest invests in solar energy

Loading component...

Alternatives – how to participate in solar parks and invest in solar energy

Solar equity funds

European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs)

Solar bonds

Crowdinvesting in solar energy

Cooperatives

Investing in solar power systems: Covering own needs

Loading component...

To sum up: Solar funds or renewable energy funds - which is better?

Loading component...

Frequently asked questions about investing in solar energy

Are solar investments risky?

Are solar investments still worthwhile without EEG remuneration?

Should you invest in solar alone or combine solar with wind?

What role do solar investments play in the portfolio?

How much should you invest in solar funds?

Loading component...

Investing in solar fundsWhat to consider when investing in solar power

Contents

Solar funds: everything you need to know when investing in solar power

How solar energy works

What is agri photovoltaics?

How do investors make money with solar parks?

What is a solar fund?

Closed-end and open-end solar funds

The opportunities and benefits of solar funds

The returns of solar funds

What are the risks of solar funds?

Possible risk factors of solar funds

Checklist: What questions to ask about solar funds, among other things

Interim summary: Are solar funds suitable for private investors?

Tordesillas solar farm: This is how klimaVest invests in solar energy

Alternatives – how to participate in solar parks and invest in solar energy

Solar equity funds

European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs)

Solar bonds

Crowdinvesting in solar energy

Cooperatives

Investing in solar power systems: Covering own needs

To sum up: Solar funds or renewable energy funds - which is better?

Frequently asked questions about investing in solar energy

Are solar investments risky?

Are solar investments still worthwhile without EEG remuneration?

Should you invest in solar alone or combine solar with wind?

What role do solar investments play in the portfolio?

How much should you invest in solar funds?

Contact person(s)