Newsroom

How does an onsite PPA work?

PPAs are becoming popular for offsite solar parks, but did you know that you can sign PPAs for onsite solar installations? We get lots of questions about how these work, and Pascal Olin, Alight’s Head of Onsite Solar, has lots of answers. Here are some answers to the most frequently asked ones.

4 operational risks you should consider when installing onsite rooftop solar

Installing rooftop solar on your company’s facilities brings many advantages, from reducing electricity costs to making strides towards your sustainability goals. Even so, it comes with some operational risks that, if not considered and mitigated, can cost you unnecessary time and money — and in the worst case, jeopardize the safety of you and your employees.

6 reasons why onsite solar should be a key part of your company’s renewable energy procurement

From high inflation to supply chain disruptions, procurement teams across Europe are now faced with major challenges. They must manage day-to-day operations with tight resources and budget, making prioritization tougher than ever before. At the same time, there is an urgent need to decarbonize operations by accelerating the deployment of new, low-cost energy to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and on Russian gas in particular. Luckily, solar can be a powerful partner in tackling these challenges.

Alight strengthens leadership team, appoints industry veteran Leixandre Mera as CFO

Stockholm, Sweden, March 21, 2023 – Alight, a leading solar developer and Independent Power Producer, is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Chief Financial Officer, Leixandre Mera.

Alight celebrates 10 years of pioneering in the solar industry

In 2013, Alight (then Eneo Solutions) was founded with a mission to help businesses switch to solar power and drive the transition to a clean energy future. Ten years later, we’re proud to celebrate our remarkable journey so far, with more than 50 solar projects under management or construction and a growing team of passionate Alighters.

Alight listed on the Swedish Climate Startup Map

Alight is one of the 108 startups identified as helping to accelerate the green transition.

Alight listed as one of the 32 hottest European energy startups to watch by Business Insider

As energy prices soar in Europe, investors are keeping a close eye on the startups making an impact. Alight is proud to be one of them.

Alight builds rooftop solar power plant in Paris for Toyota Material Handling

Toyota Material Handling signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Alight to provide solar energy to its facility in Bussy-Saint-Georges Paris, France. The rooftop solar power plant is now providing power equivalent to 25 percent of their total annual electricity consumption.

H&M group signs a power purchase agreement with Neoen and Alight for a new solar park in Sweden (90 MWp)

The construction of the landmark Hultsfred solar project, developed and owned by Neoen and Alight is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2023. Under the long-term agreement, the solar park will provide renewable energy to H&M Group and play an important role in reducing H&M Group’s carbon footprint. This is the largest solar PPA in Sweden to date. With a total capacity of at least 90 MWp, the Hultsfred solar park will generate the equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 16,000 homes.

Alight's CEO a guest on The Power Connect podcast

Our CEO Harald Överholm earns a new nickname, "The Godfather of European PPAs", as he's a guest on the podcast The Power Connect.

Pilot project for electrified fossil-free maintenance in solar park receives new government funding

Alight, Husqvarna and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences' joint pilot project for fossil-free electrified mowing of vegetation in solar parks received 4 million SEK in funding from the Swedish innovation agency, Vinnova, last year. Now the project has been extended until June 2023 and received an additional investment of 2.5 million SEK.

DIF Capital Partners invests €150 million in Alight

DIF Capital Partners will acquire a majority stake in Stockholm-headquartered Alight, a leading developer of subsidy-free solar projects in the Nordics. The agreement includes an investment of EUR 150 million and a secondary buy-out of a number of existing shareholders. With the capital raised, Alight will accelerate the buildout of its near term pipeline of solar projects.

Alight teams up with Varberg Energi to deploy energy storage in solar parks

Alight and Varberg Energi enter an agreement to deploy energy storage at a total volume of 25 MW in southern Sweden (SE3 and SE4). Alight will be the developer and owner of the storage assets, and Varberg Energi is the offtaker and management service provider of the assets.

Alight and Tekniska verken build Sweden’s largest co-located solar-plus-storage plant

Alight and Tekniska verken are adding battery storage to the 12 MW solar park in Linköping, Sweden. The battery is 2 MW/2 MWh, making the site the largest co-located solar-plus-storage plant in Sweden.

Alight's CEO finalist in "CEO of the Year" award

Alight's CEO and founder Harald Överholm is one of five finalists in the prestigious "CEO of the Year" award 2022 in the category "small companies" in Sweden.

Alight adds a Legal Counsel to its pan-European team

Jacob Thulesius joins Alight as Legal Counsel and will be focused on commercial agreements and also contribute to strengthening our debt financing capabilities. He is an award-winning business lawyer with broad experience in European transactions and financing.

New Head of ESG onboard

September 15th, Anna Dibble joins Alight as new (interim) Head of ESG. An American based in Switzerland, she first joined Alight this summer as a business analyst and has now taken on the role as our new Head of ESG.

CEO Harald in Forbes article about jobs in the renewable industry

Alight's CEO was featured in a Forbes article about job opportunities arising in the renewable industry, that also dives into some recent research about how renewable jobs can replace those from coal.

Solar veteran joins Alight as Head of Procurement, Construction and Operations

Nacim Ladjouze joins Alight as Head of Procurement, Construction and Operations. He’s spent the last 14 years building out solar energy, whereas the last +8 years as Head of Asset Management for Sonnedix in France.

Alight on list of the world's 100 most promising impact startups

Norrsken Foundation, with input from leading investment firms and foundations, has created Impact100 - a compilation of the world's most promising impact startups. Alight is on the list!

Major new solar park in southern Sweden enters operation

One of Sweden’s largest solar parks, located near Åhus in Skåne, has now entered operation. It is the size of 8 football fields and produces approximately 8 GWh of electricity a year, which is enough to power 1,600 houses. The investment is a joint initiative between Nolato, electricity company Bixia and solar energy company Alight.

Alight acquires solar assets from Vattenfall

Alight furthers its leadership in the PPA market by acquiring 15 renewable as-a-service energy assets in Sweden, of which 5 are solar installations with a capacity of approximately 0,5 MW.

Alight's CEO interviewed in Bloomberg about Swedish solar boom

Alight's CEO Harald Överholm is interviewed in an article in Bloomberg on the solar boom in Sweden and the outlook for the market.

Interview with researcher on biodiversity in solar parks

Biodiversity is crucial to ensure we protect, restore and and promote sustainable use of ecosystems and biodiversity. To deep-dive in the topic we had a chat with Tobias Emilsson, PhD and researcher at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), who is currently researching the biodiversity in our 18 MW solar park in Skurup. 

Alight enters joint agreement with RES to develop solar energy in Sweden

RES and Alight sign agreement on joint development for Nordic solar projects. The partnership aims to result in a total of 200-300 MW large scale solar projects within the coming years.

Alight's oped in Euronews about solar as infinite untapped energy source

Alight's CEO Harald Överholm writes an op-ed in Euronews on the unlimited potential of solar and how we've still barely even scratched the surface of solar’s true potential to revolutionise the global power system.

CEO Harald Överholm in Insider's Guide to Energy podcast

Alight's CEO Harald Overholm joins hosts Chris Sass and Johan Oberg in a new episode of the podcast Insider's Guide to Energy. They discuss how corporations can accelerate the transition to solar energy, the main drivers of the solar market and its opportunities to save the money while hedging power against market volatility.

Alight's CEO on the list of Sweden's 101 Most Powerful People in Sustainability 2022

Since 2009, Aktuell Hållbarhet lists Sweden's 101 most powerful people in sustainability, and this year our CEO Harald Överholm is on the list. The nomination is that he brought utility scale solar power as a service to companies in Sweden 8 years ago and built Sweden's first large solar park for the client Swedbank. The list includes researchers, opinion leaders, politicians and business profiles, and this year’s winner is Greta Thunberg.

Five key takeaways to ensure successful multi-site solar rollouts

Rolling out solar power at multiple sites may seem challenging at first glance. New technology in combination with a complex regulatory landscape throws up barriers. We’ve collected our best advice to corporate buyers who are just about to start their onsite solar journey. We’ve also included some hands-on advice from Pete Rive, Alight’s onsite solar advisor and co-founder of SolarCity (now Tesla Energy), who has in-depth experience from supporting large U.S. corporate renewable energy buyers, such as Walmart and Intel with rolling out solar across broad real estate portfolios.

Alight CEO featured in Sifted about European solar startups

Alight's CEO Harald Överholm was interviewed in an article in Sifted featuring the European solar energy startup frontrunners.

Alight CEO interviewed in "Talking New Energy" podcast

In a new episode of the podcast "Talking new energy" Harald talks about the business of solar power purchase agreements - essentially connecting corporate energy users with new sources of solar generation.

Alight CEO interviewed in The Telegraph article about Britain's energy needs

Alight's CEO Harald Överholm interviewed and featured in an article about how sanctions on Russia strengthen nuclear's cause, but fans of renewables think otherwise.

CEO Harald in Bloomberg News about surge for rooftop solar

Alight's CEO Harald Överholm was interviewed by Bloomberg News about the surge in demand for industrial rooftop solar.

Progress report for our UN Global Compact commitment

As part of Alight's commitment to the UN Global Compact, we have released our first annual Communications on Progress report (for 2021). In the report we describe the work we have done in actions or policies in human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and how we have advanced the Sustainable Development Goals.

Sweden's biggest solar park up and running

The construction of the solar park with 18 MW in Skurup in southern Sweden is now complete and the solar park was put into operation on January 19th. It will produce energy equivalent to 19 GWh, which is half of Martin & Servera's annual electricity consumption.

Pilot project for a fossil free and electrified vegetation maintenance in solar parks receives government funding

Husqvarna, Alight and SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) have joint forces on a pilot project that aims to develop and validate autonomous electrified cutting of vegetation in a solar parks utility scale in attempt to remove fossil fuels from solar park maintenance. The project, which is the first of its kind, has received over 4 million SEK in funding from Vinnova (Sweden’s Innovation Agency).

CEO Harald Överholm in The Sustainable Finance Podcast

In a new episode of The Sustainable Finance podcast, Harald discusses the rise of solar power, capital and cost curve in renewable energy, and why the financial model of PPAs are attracting corporations.

CEO Harald Överholm in the Solar Maverick podcast

In a new episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, host Benoy Thanjan speaks with Alight's CEO Harald Överholm. Harald speaks about such as the European vs American PPA market, how the solar market in Europe has evolved, and how higher electricity prices in the past year is allowing more solar.

CEO Harald Överholm guest on "The interchange" podcast

Alight's CEO and co-founder Harald Överholm is the guest in an episode of the podcast The Interchange to speak about all things commercial solar.

Alight appoints Investment Manager

In January, Ali Karkuti will join Alight in the new position of Investment Manager. In his new role at Alight, Ali will manage the investment processes for Alight’s solar and storage projects, as well as play a crucial role in Alight’s goal to develop and finance 1 GW before 2025.

Alight and The Axel Johnson Group to double Sweden’s solar park stock

The Axel Johnson Group signs an agreement with Alight to build three solar parks in Sweden with a total installed power of about 90 MW. This will double Sweden's established solar park stock’s energy production by adding Sweden's largest solar parks.

Alight featured in Forbes

Alight was featured and CEO Harald Överholm quoted in Forbes article from September 30th with the headline "Could Solar Power The Next Industrial Revolution?"

Alight signs new heads of storage and site development

Alight announce two new flagship hires: a new head of site development, Salomé San Miguel, and a head of storage deployment, Youssef Benmakhlouf. As to further Alight’s work in leading the corporate transition to solar, attracting and hiring the very best people in their fields is key. To continue the upward trajectory and growth, Alight have made two major new hires, each of which will strengthen the existing pan-European all-star team.

Pan-European team expansion

Samuel Benelbas is Alight’s new Head of Behind the Meter product & PPA structuring. He is based in Madrid, Spain, and has +12 years’ experience from banking and financial structuring, as well as co-founding a fintech company and a real estate fund. Samuel holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from CUNEF and is currently doing an Executive MBA at IESE Business School. 

Alight strengthens its board of directors with two new recruits

Alight strengthens its board of directors with two new non-executive directors, Sarah Chapman and Camilla Wideroth, bringing onboard valuable international experience and extensive knowledge in both solar energy and finance. As the board is important for the company and its direction forward, we took the opportunity to hear from Camilla and Sarah about their work, their view of Alight and the future of solar energy as they see it.

Alight's CEO Harald Överholm in podcast Energy Unplugged

Aurora Energy Research's podcast "Energy Unplugged" interviews high-profile guests to share their unique perspectives on major energy issues, and in the latest episode our CEO and co-founder Harald Överholm is the guest.

Alight to build solar park for Nolato

The industrial group Nolato signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for a solar park to be built by Alight. The solar park will be constructed in southern Sweden and will produce power equivalent to 15 percent of Nolato’s electricity consumption in Sweden.

Solar power is at a tipping point

The growth potential of Solar Energy is huge and we are just seeing the beginning of it. We want to take the opportunity to share why companies should choose solar energy.  

Harald Överholm guest on the podcast The Solar Journey

On Episode 8​ of The Solar Journey Podcast, Harald Överholm joins host Torsten Brammer to talk about his journey within the solar industry and his vision for Alight and the future of solar. 

The solar park in Linköping nominated for another award

Alight, Tekniska Verken i Linköping, Infranode and Swedbank are nominated for the Swedish award Soleneripriset where the solar park in Linköping can win a prize for Solar Facility of the Year.

Alight to build Kingspan factory rooftop solar power plant

Kingspan Group has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Alight to provide solar energy to its state-of-the-art factory in Stigamo outside Jönköping, Sweden. Under the terms of the agreement, the rooftop solar power plant will provide 20 percent of the factory’s total electricity requirements. Once commissioned, the Stigamo factory solar power plant will be one of Sweden's largest rooftop solar installations.

Alight joins UN Global Compact 

Alight has joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, and commits to help transform our world through principled business and a way of making global goals a local business.

A conversation with Harald Överholm

Alongside running a successful company, Harald Överholm, CEO and co-founder of Alight, has been an advisor to WWF, the Swedish government and the Stockholm Environment Institute, as well as a former board member of Swedish Solar Energy. He is also a Cambridge alumni and spoke to the Cambridge Engineer about his range of experiences, from founding his company to his background as a venture capitalist.

Harald Överholm keynote speaker at Davos Energy Week

Harald Överholm held a keynote on Subsidy-Free Solar in EU going forward, at Davos Energy Week today.

Alight to build Sweden’s largest solar park for Martin & Servera

The Martin & Servera Group has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Alight. Under the terms of the agreement, the Group will source 40 percent of its electricity from the solar park, which will be built outside Skurup. Once online, the solar park will be the largest in Sweden.

Webinar: Mastering multi-site solar rollouts

Rolling out multi-site rooftop solar may seem complex and challenging at first glance. But you can overcome complexity and reap the rewards of clean electricity below grid prices as is the case throughout most of Europe. Watch our webinar with SolarCity founder Peter Rive and an experienced corporate buyer.

Harald Överholm about PPA on The Sustainable Futures Report

Last week, our CEO Harald Overholm, had a conversation about coupling renewable energy with power purchase agreements, PPAs, on the podcast The Sustainable Futures Report.

Interview with our CPO: The big deal about solar power, digital and storage

Digital technologies and storage capabilities will enable both greater savings and sustainability gains from solar. Mattias Arrelid, Alight's Chief Product Officer and former Head of Content Platform at Spotify, connects the dots, mining knowledge from his experience at the digital music service and applying it to solar.

6 key success factors when sourcing your solar PPA

Solar power capacity in Europe has grown rapidly over the past few years and the share of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) have increased at an even higher pace. This trend is fuelled by a soaring demand from large corporates and a strong appetite from institutional investors to invest in renewable energy.

Harald Överholm joins the DNV GL Energy talks

Alights founder and CEO Harald Överholm joined the podcast DNV GL Energy talks for a discussion about the huge potential of solar power to be a driving factor in the energy transition over the next few years. Harald Överholm also shared that he believes solar could account for up to 50% of global energy production within our lifetime.

Join our webinar about rooftop solar power

Mastering multi-site solar rollouts: Learn from SolarCity founder Peter Rive and experienced corporate buyers

Watch the inauguration of the solar park in Linköping

Swedish Minister for Energy and Digital Development Anders Ygeman officially inaugurated one of Sweden’s largest solar parks on October 21. Watch him officially open the solar park!

The solar park in Linköping inaugurated

Swedish Minister for Energy and Digital Development Anders Ygeman today officially inaugurated one of Sweden’s largest solar parks. The park in Linköping has been producing electricity for Swedbank since last July, using 30,000 solar panels.

The solar park in Linköping nominated for an award

Alight, Tekniska Verken i Linköping, Infranode and Swedbank are nominated for the CIO Awards where the solar park in Linköping can win a prize for Sustainable Project of the Year.

Alight shines a light on solar energy

Harald Överholm, CEO of Alight, on solar energy and PPA (Power Purchase Agreements).

We're launching Alight renewable energy update!

With so much going on in the market, we thought you would find it useful to stay ahead of market intelligence as well as news, events and insights from our end.

Alight's sustainability report 2019

As a renewable energy company, we are deeply concerned about CO2 emissions. CO2 emissions create a pivotal challenge for our generation. To know that we play a role in the shift towards a more sustainable energy consumption is a source of pride for our team, as well as for our customers and our investors.

Swedish government raise the limit for tax exempt on solar onsite

The Swedish government now take action to further improve the business case for onsite solar by raising the limit for tax exempt from 255 kW to 500 kW. 

Sweden’s biggest solar park in Linköping is now producing electricity

The first solar panels were mounted in the middle of May and despite delays due to the Corona pandemic, Sweden’s biggest solar park is now producing electricity. The estimated electricity production on a sunny summer’s day is the equivalent to the annual household electricity of 18 houses or 36 apartments. The solar park is a joint venture between Alight, Infranode, Tekniska verken i Linköping and Swedbank.

How a solar PPA can generate day one savings - a webinar

Can a solar PPA generate savings from day one, even in Sweden? In this recorded webinar, Alight and Bixia deep dive in the business case for large scale solar in southern Sweden and what you as a potential corporate buyer should consider before signing a solar PPA.

Eneo is now Alight!

The construction of Sweden’s largest solar park is now ready to begin

Axel Johnson invests in Alight (previously Eneo)

Swedbank and Alight (previously Eneo) will build Sweden’s largest solar power plant

Toyota Material Handling Europe and Alight join forces in strategic solar energy programme

Raise the bar with additionality

European solar and the PPA market