Sunmill is here to clean the energy system by connecting land suitable for solar parks with anyone wanting to invest in the future.
Approximately 2/3 of the world’s electricity is generated through fossil fuels. To avoid the dramatic consequences of climate change, that needs to be zero within the next 30 years.
The coronavirus has shown us that the sooner we take scientists’ warnings seriously, the better off we are. Climate change needs immediate action and the good news is that we have the solutions we need.
Building new solar parks costs increasingly less than operating existing fossil fuel plants. Solar is cleaner, more economical and easier to build.
So why isn’t everyone and their dog building solar parks?
- It’s a hassle to get a solar project together for your land. Knowing how much and where to build takes expertise and the bureaucracy takes time.
- There’s a mismatch between land and capital markets. Not everyone has the money to build a solar park or even for a solar loan down payment. On the other hand, people who want to invest in renewables have to do so through utility companies.
Our vision is to build a future where solar development is effortless — if you have either suitable land or capital, we’ll make it work and build solar for you to benefit from.
First steps
There’s a lot to say about our journey so far, but to keep it brief, here’s a summary of what we’ve been up to:
1. Met to save the world
There’s two of us at Sunmill: Margus and Andrus. Before meeting through a mutual friend, we were two restless souls looking to make a dent on climate change. It took less than a week from meeting on Facebook to becoming friends and deciding to start a company.
It’s exciting to meet someone so amazing you want to start a company with them. If you’re ever in a similar place, we can strongly recommend going through 75 Questions to ask your Cofounder. You’ll learn as much about yourself as you learn about your co-founder.
2. Got the ball rolling
We got in touch with hundreds of landowners with a few dozens being interested, have €200 000 worth of investment looking for projects and started work on developing 2 solar parks in Estonia that start construction in June. More importantly though, every day we’ve learned something new about our business and the customers we work for.
3. Found a home
We’re one of those people who decided to start our dream business just before the coronavirus hit. While we’re literally a remote-first company, we can’t be happier about finding us a home in LIFT99, the coolest coworking space in Tallinn. Massive shoutout to Ragnar Sass & the crew for the office space and to whoever is filling the office with hand sanitisers and memes that encourage social distancing.
What next?
We’ll keep learning by listening to people we could be useful to and working on projects that have been trusted to us. If there’s anyone you think we should talk to — especially landowners — then let us know! If we’re not friends already, then the easiest way would be through the live chat on our website.
We’ll try to post something every now and then, so stay in touch — either here on Medium or on Facebook.
P.S. We also have a Fundwise campaign as part of our application to Prototron, a startup incubator. We’ll spend the money on our first 5 projects as a bonus to landowners and there’s some sweet rewards involved.
Stay sunny,
Sunmill
