Enosi sees extraordinary demand for its solar energy matching technology in Italy as renters and apartment dwellers sign up to Plenitude’s “Adopt a Panel”

Model has significant potential for Australian “Solar Sharer” and clean energy access

Australian clean energy technology company Enosi is powering one of Europe’s fastest-growing consumer energy programs, as Italian energy retailer Plenitude rapidly scales “Adopt a Panel”, a model that uses energy matching to give renters and apartment dwellers direct access to solar power — a development with significant potential for Australia’s clean energy access and affordability challenges.

The “Adopt A Panel” program uses Enosi’s Powertracer platform to digitally match apartment energy usage to specific allocations of solar generation from large-scale solar farms, delivering bill credits based on the actual output of the allocated panels. In return for a low monthly ‘rental’ fee, when a customer uses energy from their ‘Panel’ of the solar farm, it is free. Adopt a Panel encourages apartment dwellers to match their usage to solar energy during the day, and money on their monthly bill. The product has been a huge success for Plenitude with more than 82,000 customers joining within 10 months since launch. The 31 MW Porto Torres solar farm in Sardinia has been fully allocated, with subscriptions filling for the second solar farm with a and third plant in planning.

What is driving this demand is not early adopters or niche green consumers, but a large and growing segment of the population that has been structurally excluded from the clean energy transition — renters and apartment dwellers. The model allows new and existing customers to participate in solar generation without owning a roof, without upfront capital, and without changing their living situation, while still receiving a direct financial benefit tied to when solar energy is produced.

This is emerging at a moment when energy systems globally, including in Australia, are being reframed through the lens of security and resilience. Geopolitical instability, exposure to global fuel markets, and increasing pressure on grids are shifting the conversation from simply generating renewable energy to ensuring that energy is reliable, traceable and locally matched. As energy prices skyrocket globally, the benefits of low-cost solar energy can now be accessed by everyone. Just as we see a spike in demand for EV’s as a way to avoid the cost of petrol and diesel, consumers are also looking to increase their use of local, reliable and renewable energy. The popularity of solar and batteries are central to that shift, but access remains uneven.

In Australia, around 30% of households rent and only a small fraction of apartment buildings have rooftop solar. As rooftop penetration increases and households with solar and storage gain greater control over their energy costs, those without access risk becoming increasingly exposed to price volatility and system costs. Initiatives such as the emerging “solar sharer” model, scheduled to begin from July 1, try to address this imbalance, but the government’s approach is a very blunt instrument, forcing electricity retailers to price energy at zero for specific hours of the day and absorb the risk that solar energy may not even be available. The speed and scale of Plenitude’s success in Italy demonstrates that time matched solar energy to consumer usage can operate as a mainstream, commercially viable solution today without forcing retailers to take that risk (or pass it on in higher charges).

Enosi CEO Steve Hoy said “ Plenitude’s success reflects a deeper shift in how electricity is generated, valued and consumed, and the ability of energy matching to unlock value for the consumer, the energy supplier and the renewable energy generator.

“Energy is no longer something that can be averaged out over a year and assumed to be equivalent,” Hoy said. “The grid is dynamic, increasingly decentralised, and shaped by what happens at specific times of the day. Now that consumers can see and benefit from when clean energy is actually produced, it changes behaviour and it changes demand.”

The ability to match energy in time, rather than simply account for it at the end of the month, is also becoming central to how energy markets deliver affordability. By aligning consumption with periods of abundant solar generation, these models can reduce costs for consumers while improving system efficiency and lowering peak demand pressures in the evening.

For Australia, the implications are immediate. As policymakers grapple with energy price pressures and the broader question of energy security, models that extend access to clean energy beyond property owners offer a way to bring more households into the transition while reducing exposure to external shocks. Without that, there is a growing risk of a two-speed energy system emerging — one group able to generate, store and manage its energy, and another left behind to absorb rising costs.

Plenitude’s booming product shows that this divide is not inevitable. By turning traceability and time-based matching into a retail product, it demonstrates how energy can be shared, attributed and valued in a way that reflects the realities of the modern grid, while expanding access to those who have historically been left out.

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