Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

RETScreen VS Soldera

Compare RETScreen VS Soldera and see what are their differences

RETScreen logo RETScreen

Site menu for NRCan internet website.

Soldera logo Soldera

Stripe for renewable energy certificates. Automate all administration, maximize revenue, and reduce workload by 95%. No software fees - we earn only on successful sales transactions. Trusted by 3000+ renewable energy sites across Europe.
  • RETScreen Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-03
  • Soldera Soldera Banner
    Soldera Banner //
    2025-10-15

We're building a programmable settlement layer for EAC sellers and buyers.

For sellers, Soldera is the largest renewable energy certificate aggregator and private GO auction host in the Baltics, managing GOs for thousands of production sites across Europe. We offer producers comprehensive automations for management and sales, covering device registration, PPA allocation, quality label eligibility checks, consolidated reporting, automated invoicing, AI contract processing, and forward hedging.

This positions us to provide buyers & traders with direct, efficient access to a growing pool of GOs from our member producers. Our systematic aggregation approach across spot and forward sales allows us to auction large, diverse GO volumes via our sealed hybrid tenders. We offer a simple buying process, predictable supply, and simplified documentation for all buyers in the unbundled EAC market.

Soldera

$ Details
free
Platforms
Browser
Release Date
2024 January
Startup details
Country
Estonia
City
Tartu Linn
Founder(s)
Stenver Jerkku, Al William Tammsaar
Employees
10 - 19

RETScreen features and specs

  • Comprehensive Analysis
    RETScreen offers a wide array of tools for comprehensive analysis of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and cogeneration projects. This enables users to assess feasibility, perform cost analysis, and understand the potential energy savings and financial viability of projects.
  • Global Database
    The software includes an extensive database of climatic conditions, equipment performance, and other critical data from around the world. This allows users to accurately model projects in diverse geographic locations, enhancing the global applicability of the tool.
  • Built-in Benchmarking
    RETScreen provides built-in benchmarking capabilities that enable users to compare their proposed projects against baseline scenarios, industry standards, or best practices. This facilitates better-informed decision-making and validation of project performance targets.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The software features an intuitive user interface that simplifies the complex process of energy project analysis. This makes it accessible to a wide range of users, from engineers and project managers to students and policy makers.
  • Cost-effectiveness
    RETScreen is available at no cost, significantly reducing the financial barrier for users seeking reliable and efficient energy project analysis tools. This makes it an economical choice for both organizations and individuals.

Possible disadvantages of RETScreen

  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly design, RETScreen can still present a steep learning curve for new users who are not familiar with energy project modeling and analysis. Initial training or self-study may be necessary to utilize the tool effectively.
  • Limited Granularity
    While RETScreen handles a broad range of project types, it may lack the granularity required for highly specialized or complex projects. Advanced users might find it necessary to supplement RETScreen analysis with additional tools or software.
  • Periodic Updates
    The software is subject to periodic updates from Natural Resources Canada, which may require users to stay informed and adapt to new features or changes. This could potentially disrupt ongoing projects if significant updates are introduced.
  • Dependence on External Databases
    While the inclusion of global databases is an advantage, RETScreen's reliance on these external databases might limit its accuracy if the data is outdated or not sufficiently detailed for specific locales or project requirements.
  • Hardware Requirements
    Running RETScreen efficiently may require specific hardware capabilities, such as a high-performance computer, which can be a limitation for users with older or less powerful systems.

Soldera features and specs

  • PPA GO Allocation
    Upload PPAs once; the platform parses contracts and nightly allocates new GOs, ringfencing PPA volumes, reserving forwards/holds, and sending leftovers to spot across registries
  • Transaction History
    Unified audit trail of every issuance, sale, transfer, invoice, and cancellation, showing counterparties, prices, timestamps, docs, and statuses in one place for compliance and accounting
  • Automated Contracting
    Drag-and-drop contracts; AI extracts terms and auto-generates drafts and registry instructions for PPAs, forwards, cancellations, scheduled transfers, and device registration, multi-language, any filetype
  • Aggregated Forwards
    Pool forward volumes with other producers; set per-plant percentage hedges; we run quarterly tenders to secure premium prices and automate contracts, transfers, and settlement
  • Aggregated Spot
    Frequent sealed-hybrid tenders pool spot volumes to reach institutional pricing; 100+ buyers bid, eligibility checks applied, and we must accept the highest price
  • Auto Invoices
    Automates invoicing and settlements around sales and scheduled transfers, issuing, matching, and reconciling documents and payments, so registry deliveries align with payment terms without manual work
  • Inventory Overview
    Unified inventory across registries, statuses, ownership, labels, and allocations, searchable, filterable views with charts help plan sales, holds, cancellations, and GO allocation
  • Device Overview
    Portfolio view of production devices with ownership, registry, location, label eligibility, scheduled deliveries, and forecasts, drilled down per asset for operations and compliance
  • Ecolabel Approval
    Automates eligibility and approval checks for quality schemes, ensuring only compliant GOs are sold or cancelled, with documentation centralized
  • Device Registration
    Automates device registration and onboarding across European registries, prepares documents, handles submissions, tracks status, and reduces back-and-forth with authorities
  • Forward Hedging
    Set percentage hedges by device or portfolio; Soldera runs tenders and executes forwards quarterly, stabilising revenues while preserving upside
  • Market Insights
    Quarterly market outlooks and data-driven insights on GO supply, demand, prices, and policy, supporting hedging, timing, and label strategies
  • Scheduled Transfers
    Parse contracts, configure schedules, and automate GO deliveries across registries with readiness alerts and optional approval workflows; complete documentation is generated
  • Single Counterparty KYC
    One KYC to access Solderaโ€™s tenders as a buyer, or to sell to a pre-qualified buyer network via spot and forward tenders, removing duplicated compliance across multiple counterparties
  • SPV GO Management
    Manage GO operations across SPVs and countries with team-level permissions, consolidated views, and automation that reduces credential juggling and errors
  • Success-Fee Pricing
    Platform features are free; you only pay a success fee when Soldera executes a sale through tenders, with contractual obligation to accept the highest quote
  • Virtual EAC Accounts
    Single, borderless internal account for multi-scheme EAC trading; Soldera nets positions internally, cutting per-transfer fees and delays until external delivery or cancellation
  • Virtual GO Accounts
    Cheapest GO holding accounts for cancellations and transfers by netting internally and postponing registry movements; instant matching, fewer fees

Analysis of RETScreen

Overall verdict

  • RETScreen is a highly suitable tool for those needing in-depth analysis of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Its extensive database, user-friendly interface, and comprehensive analytical capabilities make it a valuable asset for energy management and sustainability planning.

Why this product is good

  • RETScreen is a comprehensive clean energy management software system developed by Natural Resources Canada to help decision-makers evaluate the energy production, life-cycle costs, emission reductions, financial viability, and risk for various types of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. It is widely regarded for its robust analytical tools, training resources, and support for a broad range of clean energy projects. RETScreen facilitates informed decision-making for energy professionals by offering detailed project analysis and feasibility studies.

Recommended for

    RETScreen is recommended for energy analysts, project developers, government agencies, educational institutions, financial advisors, and environmental consultants who are involved in planning, executing, or investing in clean energy projects.

RETScreen videos

Introduction to RETScreen Expert Software (2 min)

More videos:

  • Review - Financial Analysis with RETScreen
  • Review - Performance Analysis with RETScreen

Soldera videos

Soldera Markets #2 | How to Make the Most Profit From GO Sales

More videos:

  • Review - Soldera 2020 Taste Guide
  • Review - Tuscany's Treasures: GIANFRANCO SOLDERA'S Coveted Collectible Wines
  • Review - Brunello di Montalcino 1986 Gianfranco Soldera

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to RETScreen and Soldera)
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0
Environmental, Social And Governance (ESG)
Governance, Risk And Compliance
Energy Management
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing RETScreen and Soldera.

What's the story behind your product?

Soldera's answer:

Soldera emerged from failure. After experimentations in the carbon market that didn't work out, founders Stenver Jerkku and Al William Tammsaar faced a brutal reality check.

They'd spent a decade working on climate solutions together, starting when Stenver hired Al on the spot after he sketched neural networks on a cafรฉ napkin. But timing killed their carbon venture, and the market wasn't operating with the integrity required to deliver genuine environmental impact.

Rather than pivot aimlessly, they systematically analyzed every environmental asset class. Their criteria: market maturity (could it be commodified?) and scale (could they have massive impact?). Guarantees of Origin hit both marks.

The concept itself is elegant. When you buy "green electricity," you're not actually getting green electrons. The grid mixes everything like water in an ocean. Guarantees of origin solve this through accounting: every megawatt-hour of renewable energy produced generates one GO certificate. Every megawatt-hour consumed retires one. It's government-mandated across Europe, used by AI data centers for ESG goals and required for regulatory subsidies. Simple in theory.

Stenver and Al went practical. They grabbed wine, visited friends with solar panels, and said: "Let us register your GOs." They bought the certificates, sold them, and immediately spotted the dysfunction. The market runs entirely over-the-counter. People texting spreadsheets, negotiating deals manually, drowning in paperwork. In Germany, you report metering data monthly. In Poland, you send physical papers to grid operators. One producer told them his capacity trader literally emails him to shut down machines when electricity prices go negative.

The data was stark: 30% of renewable energy producers weren't selling their GOs at all. Just leaving money on the floor. Small and medium producers either didn't know about the opportunity or couldn't handle the bureaucracy. Worse, large producers lost up to 60% of potential GO revenue due to limited market access and the disproportionate effort required for what amounts to 5-10% extra income.

Soldera's solution combines two mechanisms. First, an AI agent automates 95% of the work: registration, sales, paperwork, reporting, invoicing. Producers set high-level strategy; Soldera handles execution. Second, they aggregate all producers into a single counterparty, creating what Stenver calls a "global virtual renewable energy cooperative." Bigger volumes unlock better deals. Last month they moved 70 gigawatt hours, with volumes doubling or tripling monthly.

The trading philosophy is anti-speculation. Stenver saw too many producers try timing the market, holding 2023 production until now and losing 95% of value as prices collapsed from โ‚ฌ8 to under โ‚ฌ1 per megawatt-hour. Soldera pushes dollar-cost averaging: automated regular sales that capture average market prices without the bust-or-jackpot volatility.

Growth comes through the network effect. More participants mean bigger volumes, stronger negotiating power, better deals. Soldera's last tender had more participants than France's government auction.

The vision extends beyond Europe. As regulations standardize globally and hourly-based GOs replace yearly certificates, Soldera positions itself as the direct channel to producers, automating their back office while ensuring cash reaches those actually generating renewable energy.

What makes your product unique?

Soldera's answer:

Management is totally free

Soldera operates on a no upfront or software fees model known as our success fee. It means that Soldera's fees only kick in when producers successfully sell their Guarantees of Origin specifically using Soldera sales channels. Considering that the EAC market is currently extractive, opaque, and broker-driven, this aligns incentives perfectly between the platform and renewable energy producers, maximizing member freedom. Our auctions have a comparatively impressive performance again the broader market, and members always have the choice to use them or not.

Unmatched registry integrations

We're integrated across European registries - even where nobody else is. Soldera's platform acts as a "registry of registries," consolidating data from 30+ registries through a streamlined device overview so producers avoid juggling multiple logins. This unified cross-registry view is complemented by integrated market intelligence through quarterly market outlooks that link directly with trading strategy features like hedging.

Constantly rolling out intuitive automations

The platform delivers deep automation across the entire GO value chain, from device registration and contracting to transfers, invoicing, reconciliation, and reporting, reducing back-office work by approximately 95%.

Sheer aggregate volume means unrivalled market access

We're growingly rapidly, and our members benefit as a result of sheer volumes managed. Through aggregated market access, Soldera pools volume and runs sealed-hybrid tenders that secure better bids and access to institutional buyers, enabling premium pricing for producers that otherwise they simply wouldn't reach.

We know where to look to identifying revenue gaps

Soldera also automates quality label and ecolabel eligibility checks, ensuring that qualifying volumes aren't overlooked. Already trusted by 3,000+ renewable production sites across Europe, the platform has demonstrated scalable, trustworthy adoption in the market.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Soldera's answer:

Because this service shouldn't cost you a limb

Others are already charging thousands for the services we provide for free. Choosing Soldera means the ability to test the waters, with zero financial risk or barrier to entry: our total lack of setup fees make it accessible for energy producers of any size. The platform automates tedious, error-prone processes across multiple registries, freeing staff from administrative burden while reducing mistakes.

By participating in Soldera's aggregated pools, even individually small producers gain access to premium buyers and better pricing that would be unavailable to them independently. Unlike opaque intermediation, Soldera provides transparent price discovery through its tender process, while built-in market intelligence enables data-driven decisions rather than guesswork.

The platform's proven scale, with thousands of producers and battle-tested processes across jurisdictions, demonstrates reliability and maturity that newer entrants cannot match. Producers can learn how to make the most profit from GO sales through Soldera's comprehensive approach.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Soldera's answer:

Energy producers of any size who want extra income

Soldera's primary audience consists of renewable energy producers, spanning solar, wind, hydro, and biomass facilities, who generate or want to generate Guarantees of Origin and want to monetize them efficiently. These producers range from small and medium operators to large, multi-SPV portfolios requiring scalable, automated operations.

The platform particularly serves producers operating across multiple jurisdictions and registries through cross-border GO management who need cross-registry consolidation and compliance support. Risk and commercial teams seeking integrated market intelligence, hedging tools, and strategic insights to optimize their GO strategy also form a key part of the audience.

Soldera is backed by leading investors and backed by a diverse range of partners across the renewable energy ecosystem.

As well as this page, we maintain a comprehensive FAQ section to address common producer questions.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

Soldera's answer:

Large institutional players:

  • Utilitas Wind (UAB)
  • Saules Energy
  • Nuveen
  • BaltCap
  • Kaamos Energy
  • Merito
  • Sunsa
  • Vestman

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Soldera's answer:

We're powered by AI, and security always comes first

Soldera's platform is built on a foundation of secure, EU-based infrastructure with sophisticated AI-powered automation. The backend runs on Google Cloud servers located in the EU, inheriting Google's ISO certifications including ISO 27001, 27017, and 27018. For clients with specific regulatory requirements, Soldera can deploy local, on-premises AI servers to ensure data never touches U.S. infrastructure.

The platform leverages the Gemini API for AI processing, with a critical security benefit: under Gemini's paid API terms, prompts and responses are never used to train Google's general models. Each PPA or GO statement is handled in an isolated session, documents don't train Soldera's models, and data is never shared across clients. After processing, documents are cleared from working memory. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with access control enforced via single sign-on (SSO) and role-based permissions.

Soldera's AI contract parsing respects legal meaning by extracting terms such as delivery schedules and forward sales that map precisely to registry operations like GO issuance, transfer, or cancellation. Users retain control through options to process contracts manually or require human approval steps. Every action leaves an audit trail, and Soldera positions itself as an "open book" on AI security, inviting clients or auditors to review architecture diagrams and technical implementations.

Additional details can be found in the Soldera privacy policy and through their comprehensive feature documentation.

User comments

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