Otovo AS has launched its leasing offering in France. Installations expected from late in the second quarter. Following the launch of the leasing product in Norway and Spain in May 2020 and Sweden in December 2020, Otovo has now made leasing of solar panels available to customers in France. The leasing product is available on the In Sun We Trust web site and the first installations are expected to be completed toward the end of the second quarter of 2021, due to the lead time from sale to installation (typically about 3 months in France). This solution removes one of the major barriers to solar energy for French consumers, which has always been the initial investment needed to start saving on the electricity bill, says Andreas Thorsheim, Otovo’s CEO. In a poll done by Opinionway for In Sun We Trust, 50% of French homeowners said they would be more likely to invest in solar energy if the up front costs were lower. French consumer electricity prices have been rising 2-3 times faster than inflation over the past years. EDF, the government owned French electricity incumbent, has raised the reglemented tariffs on three occasions since the beginning of 2020. Now people can get solar panels on their roof and see the electricity bill drop the next month without needing to crack open the piggy bank. Company believe this can be a game changer for the French residential solar market, that’s been lagging behind its neighboring countries for too long, says Thorsheim. As in other markets, it is Otovo’s asset owning spinoff, EDEA, that will finance projects and receive the recurring payments from the 20 year contracts with homeowners. To Otovo margins on leased installations and direct sales to consumers are identical, but with leasing contracts Otovo receives an additional service and maintenance fee equivalent to 1.25% of the initial asset value every year. Consumers receive the government subsidies as with direct purchases, and also collect the gains from selling power to the grid, in addition to cutting their electricity bills. Otovo estimates that the average leasing bill will come in at about 45-55 euros per month, with electricity bill reductions expected to come in at 800-1200 euros per year per household.