Autarco was founded in 2011 and has its headquarters in the Netherlands. The company derives its name from the Greek word, “autarky,” meaning self-sufficiency. Autarco is so sure of the quality of their products, they are guaranteeing their customers cash compensation at a predetermined price per kWh if the electricity generated by its panels doesn’t match up to expectations.
They can make this claim because all their components, including solar panels, inverters, and roof-mounting parts are designed to work seamlessly together. The one thing that sets this company apart from many others is its innovative software, that working in tandem with the components of its system, considers environmental factors and enables installers to determine how much energy can be generated.
Autarco continues to monitor a system after it has been installed, providing end-users with reliable data about the functionality of their system, according to chief executive Roel van den Berg. “That’s exactly the offer of Autarco: we optimize the hardware, we measure the performance, we signal possible problems, and therefore we can guarantee the performance and ensure it,” he said.
He added: “For us, it’s about trust in solar energy and, of course, our systems in particular. With the insurance proposition, we feel that we can speed up the energy transition.”
Guarantee backed by Lloyd’s of London
Autarco believes the solar industry is hampered because the risk of a component brand is mover to the installer after it is manufactured, and then to the end-user. However, Autarco insists that end users will no longer have to settle for an expected guarantee without sufficient protection of their bottom-line investment.
In a statement, Lloyd’s of London said: “We have carried out rigid tests on all technology of Autarco in order to be absolutely certain that all risks are well covered by them. It is a unique insurance, which we could not issue until now since no other market player has been able to do this.”
Being able to guarantee their product’s performance has put Autarco in an enviable position in the solar industry. Earlier this month, Paris-based IEA predicted that solar would dominate future growth, with global capacity in five years’ time expected to be greater than the current combined total power capacity of India and Japan.
