InsightsBackground · Context · Practice

Understand before you decide.

Direct investments are not an off-the-shelf product. In this collection we explain the tax, technical and economic levers in detail — so that you, as an investor, can evaluate each position independently.

These articles do not constitute tax or legal advice. Tax and legal effects depend on your individual situation — please discuss any concrete structure with your own tax advisor.

New articles regularly

Articles.

Markets & technology07 Jul 2026

Co-located vs. stand-alone: which gives the better risk structure

When a PV-plus-storage hybrid beats a stand-alone battery — and when it doesn't. A factual comparison of both structures.

~7 min readRead

Markets & technology03 Jul 2026

Direct marketing explained: day-ahead, intraday and balancing power

How a modern battery storage system earns money — and why three parallel revenue streams structurally reduce market-price risk.

~10 min readRead

Practice & risk01 Jul 2026

Risks in BESS direct investments — and how they are structurally addressed

Power-price risk, technology, financing, regulation. An honest assessment of the four main risks of a direct investment in battery storage — and the typical mitigants.

~10 min readRead

Returns & revenue24 Jun 2026

Battery storage returns: where the revenue comes from — and what is realistic

Grid-scale battery storage is regarded as a high-return real asset. But where does the return actually come from, how high is it realistically — and why is it a range rather than a fixed number? This article sets out the revenue sources, the orders of magnitude and the tax lever.

~9 min readRead

Basics16 Jun 2026

Investing in battery storage: the options at a glance

Battery storage is one of the most compelling infrastructure assets of the energy transition. But 'investing' is not one thing: there are four fundamentally different ways in — from the share to the entrepreneurial direct investment. This overview puts them in order.

~6 min readRead

Tax & structuring15 Jun 2026

Sonder-AfA §7g (5) vs. declining-balance AfA §7 (2): which combination, when?

Since the 2025 Investitionssofortprogramm, declining-balance AfA is back at up to 30 % — alongside the Sonder-AfA under §7g. Why the two together produce the largest tax effect in year one, for battery storage and solar PV alike — and why that early liquidity is the real lever.

~7 min readRead

Tax & structuring13 Jun 2026

Legally reducing your tax: the most effective strategies

Most 'tax tips' move a few hundred euros. For high earners, the self-employed and business owners, a different league of levers applies. This article ranks the legal strategies by actual impact.

~9 min readRead

Practice & structuring11 Jun 2026

How much equity is actually required?

Why the common rule of thumb 'from €200,000 equity' is misleading — and how tax refunds and project debt push the effective equity outlay into the single-digit-percent range.

~5 min readRead

Portfolio & strategy09 Jun 2026

Using the investment deduction every year: building a portfolio over multiple years

The investment deduction under §7g EStG is not a one-off trick but an annual instrument. Those who understand this build a diversified portfolio of energy direct investments over several years — with a recurring tax effect instead of a single one.

~8 min readRead

Support & reporting07 Jun 2026

What happens after closing: reporting, asset management and why a partner is not a broker

Most problems with a direct investment arise not at the purchase but in the twenty years that follow. This article shows what actually has to be done after closing — and why it matters whether your provider is still reachable afterwards.

~7 min readRead

Costs & transparency05 Jun 2026

Transparent costs: which fees a direct investment involves — and which ones are hidden

A direct investment has no standardised fact sheet — the provider sets the cost structure. This article names every fee that should arise in the open and shows the hidden cost patterns you have to ask about actively.

~6 min readRead

Choosing a provider01 Jun 2026

How to tell a trustworthy provider of energy direct investments

With a direct investment in an energy asset, you hand a six-figure sum to a provider before a single kilowatt-hour has been sold. This article shows the seven warning signs that point to trouble in practice — and the questions you can use to test any provider, including us.

~7 min readRead

Tax & structuring28 May 2026

IAB under §7g EStG: example calculation for battery storage

How the Investitionsabzugsbetrag under §7g EStG actually affects a €300,000 direct investment in a battery storage system — step by step, with real numbers, and with the pitfalls most often overlooked in practice.

~8 min readRead