With increasing energy prices, more and more people and business are looking to lower their bills. By far the biggest help anyone can get to combat high electricity prices is solar PV. We often hear from councils and schools looking to reduce their bills and have lots of roof space, unfortunately they don’t often have the initial capital to pay for the install themselves.

Although large PV systems can earn over 15% first year returns in cases, another option is a Power Purchase Agreement.
A Power Purchase Agreement is a contract where an investor will pay for the installation of a PV system at your property, and you, the client, buys back generated electricity at a cheaper rate to your current electricity rate. This means that any school, academy, council building, or factory can reduce their electricity bill by up to 25% in the first year alone.

The bigger bonus is that the value you are buying electricity from us is tied with the Retail Price Index, instead of electricity price increase, so the cost of a unit of electricity may only increase by about 2.5% a year instead of the estimated annual increase of electricity of 7%. In year 10 you could be saving up to 50% per unit of electricity, and up to 40% in year 20. Following the termination of the lease (usually either 20-25), you will take ownership of the array and any electricity generated you will get for free.

Benefits of the PPA for you

  • No capital outlay;
  • Instant saving on your electricity bill of up to 25% on the energy you use from the solar system;
  • No risk or responsibility for the operation & optimum performance. The maintenance costs are covered by the investor;
  • Increase the rental or sale value of your site as PV brings reduced CO2 emissions & energy bills;
  • The contract can be transferred if the building is sold with the subsequent owner continuing to benefit from the PV generation;
  • The electricity from the PV system will help insure against steeply rising energy costs;
  • Green credentials and environmental profile raised.

How is it possible for me to be offered solar for free?

  • In April 2010 the UK government launched the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme which provides cash benefits related to the energy performance of a solar PV system
  • Revenue under the FiT can be nominated to a third party (in this case our partner FGEC), while the actual solar energy produces savings on the site where it is installed
  • The electricity used from the PV system will be charged at a reduced rate depending on location and suitability, this is known as a power purchase agreement (PPA)
  • When the contract term is finished the PV system is gifted to the landlord

As an award winning installer, and one of the largest, EvoEnergy have already installed around 8,000 panels in a similar scheme in Nottingham. Nottingham City Council and EvoEnergy have partnered to deliver solar systems on suitable Council buildings and schools.  The Council is saves about 1-2p on each kWh of electricity it consumes from the solar system compared to their existing contracted grid electricity price.

Councillor Alan Clark, portfolio holder for Energy and Sustainability said; “This shows our commitment to making Nottingham a greener city. It’s part of a whole host of renewable energy measures we are introducing. It means we have a greener Nottingham and by buying the solar electricity at a reduced price we are protecting ourselves against increases in electricity charges in the future.”

Read more about this on our blog here

This opportunity is now available to your school through the same mechanism.

We’re really excited to be able to roll this proven model out to other schools and academies, as well as the private sector.  If you have any relationship with a school, academy or large commercial building, then please get in touch, as we’d love to help you reduce your carbon and electricity bills. In most cases we will be able to give you a quick answer as to whether there is potential.