The energy transition needs owners.

The structure becomes worthwhile from an annual taxable income of roughly €120,000 to €150,000, at which level you are reliably in the top tax bracket of 42 % (around 44 % including the solidarity surcharge), so the IAB and Sonder-AfA can fully unfold their effect. The equity actually required is significantly lower than the nominal investment volume: a substantial part is carried by the early tax refunds from the IAB. Typical project investments start at around €100,000 in volume.

Real estate has long been the default tax shelter for German private investors. But the math has shifted. Denkmal-AfA and Sonder-AfA on Neubau are volume-capped and supply-constrained, residential yields in attractive locations have compressed below 3 %, and the operating burden (tenancy law, maintenance, regulatory exposure) keeps growing. A PV or BESS direct investment delivers a comparable real-asset profile with materially stronger tax levers in the early years (IAB plus Sonder-AfA easily exceed 70 % of the investment amount in deductions) alongside a clearly bounded technical risk profile and revenues tied to a structurally growing market (Energiewende, electrification of mobility and heat). Most of our clients arrive having already built a real-estate position and view Copernica as the natural next allocation.

You can deduct up to 50 % of the planned investment amount from taxable profits in the three years before purchase. In the year of acquisition, Sonder-AfA (§7g (5) EStG, up to 40 % cumulative over 5 years) and straight-line or declining-balance AfA (§7 (1) or (2) EStG) are added on top.

Returns depend on project site, revenue model, financing structure and your individual tax situation. In every initial conversation we walk through the sensitivity calculation for the specific project across three scenarios (best / mid / worst). Because these are entrepreneurial investments, we do not make return promises.

Three structural levers. First, you own a real asset, the physical PV or storage installation, whose replacement cost rises with inflation. Second, revenue is tied to electricity prices: PPAs are typically index-linked, and the merchant portion participates directly in market price movements. Third, project debt is usually fixed-rate over 10–20 years, so inflation erodes the real debt burden while revenues adjust upward. The combination has historically made energy infrastructure one of the more reliable inflation hedges among real-asset classes.

No. And that is a key difference. We remain your point of contact across the entire holding period and beyond. This includes regular reporting, account management, technical and tax service. The goal is for your capital to work, without stress for you.

You participate directly in the real asset, not in a fund wrapper. That means: no fund management layers between you and the asset, full tax levers as an entrepreneurial investor, and immediate impact of project performance on your position.

Every project we broker comes with a measurable impact profile: annual MWh produced or stored, tons of CO₂ avoided versus the German grid mix, and the household equivalent the asset powers or stabilizes. A mid-sized rooftop PV project of around €500,000 typically avoids 150–200 t CO₂ per year over a 20-year lifetime, roughly 3,500 tons cumulative, the lifetime emissions of dozens of households. You receive this data in your regular reporting alongside the financial figures, so the impact is auditable, not aspirational.

The initial conversation is free of charge. For the brokerage we charge a commission on the purchase price; for ongoing support of your investment we charge a service and asset-management fee. All terms are disclosed transparently before signing.

Direct investments are entrepreneurial holdings; as with any return-oriented investment, the opportunities come with a corresponding risk of loss. The relevant risks are in particular: power-price and market risk, technical risk (availability), financing risk and regulatory risk. We address these structurally (through co-located structures, established direct marketers, insurance and standard contracts) but we cannot eliminate them.

From the first conversation to signing typically takes 4–6 weeks. To make use of the IAB in the current tax year, we work to a compressed timeline on request.

Yes. The IAB and Sonder-AfA are the immediate lever, but not the only one. Depending on your personal situation, further structuring can be examined: for example bundling several investments, contributing them into a corporation or holding structure at a later point, or shaping the ongoing taxation across multiple years. Which options make sense depends heavily on the individual case; a one-size-fits-all answer is not possible here. On request we walk through this together with the tax advisers we work with (this conversation does not replace tax advice; the concrete structuring remains the responsibility of your tax adviser). What is clear: beyond pure depreciation, there are usually several points of leverage.

The regulatory risk is real and is one of the relevant risks of an investment. The energy market is highly dynamic politically: support regimes, grid fees, market design and the tax framework keep evolving. This risk cannot be eliminated. We do, however, aim to stay continuously up to date and work with law firms specialised in energy law to do so. That lets us position and accompany our investors as accurately as possible on every investment.

The debate concerns skimming revenue peaks, that is, returns above a secured level. For EEG-funded photovoltaic projects, the market premium (Marktprämie) forms a floor over 20 years and thus a stability anchor. Battery storage, by contrast, earns pure merchant revenue from arbitrage and balancing services, without an EEG floor. As things currently stand, interventions target windfall profits in extreme phases, not this floor.

Yes. You acquire the plant directly and hold it in a business of your own, typically a sole proprietorship (Einzelunternehmen), or a GbR for a co-investment. This route is open to employees as well; an existing business is not a requirement. Which structure fits your situation is something we clarify in the initial conversation together with your tax adviser (the conversation does not replace tax advice).

A solar park generates electricity and sells it via the EEG market premium or long-term offtake agreements (PPAs); the market premium forms a floor over 20 years and makes revenues well plannable. A battery storage system does not generate electricity but shifts it: it buys in low-price hours, sells in expensive hours (arbitrage) and additionally provides balancing services for grid stability. Its revenues are market-driven and therefore more volatile; in return, storage participates more strongly in growing price volatility. Many projects combine both as a co-located asset.

The central lever is the combination of the Investitionsabzugsbetrag (§7g (1) EStG) and the Sonder-AfA (§7g (5) EStG): together they allow cumulative depreciation of more than 70 % of the investment volume to be pulled into the early years, which significantly reduces the tax burden at the top tax rate. The prerequisite is an entrepreneurial stake in the asset, for example in a battery storage or photovoltaic project. Whether and to what extent the effects apply to you depends on your individual situation and belongs in the discussion with your tax adviser; our example calculations do not replace tax advice.