Solar Power
Solar (PV) panels deliver remarkably high levels of return.
Are you considering a Solar PV system for your organisation?
Solar Power
Solar (PV) panels deliver remarkably high levels of return and are a hugely popular sustainable solution for organisations seeking renewable, self-generation solutions.
Our solar PV experts provide a consultative approach with industry leading advice, quality installation and an award-winning service.
The Energy Action group and their partners provide a focused commercial solar panel solution for businesses and charities, with state of the art design, supply and installation, and long-term maintenance.
Are you considering a Solar PV system for your organisation?
Whatever size organisation you are, you can benefit from installing a commercial solar panel system. Some people think that they need a large roof to benefit from solar power, but small roofs should not be dismissed as they can be equally beneficial.
Thousands of UK organisations have installed solar panels on their premises and are reaping the financial and environmental rewards with low cost renewable energy. With UK commercial electricity prices hovering around the 15 pence per kilowatt hour, the reasons for doing so are increasingly powerful.
Most people in the UK believe that Solar Energy doesn’t perform well in the British climate and given the lack of sunlight and the number of cloudy days that would seem to make sense. But research shows that lower temperatures and the colour of light in the UK actually enables solar panel systems to generate electricity more efficiently.
Are commercial solar panels the right solution for your organisation?
Environmental Benefits of Commercial Solar Panels
Many Businesses and Community Groups are committed to lowering their carbon footprint.
A small 10 kilowatt hour peak (kWp) solar system can save around 17 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum. Allowing 2 years to discount the embedded energy in the panels, this amounts to 391 tonnes of CO2 saved after 25 years and roughly 400,000 kilowatt hours of electricity generated.
Reducing carbon emissions is no longer seen as optional for businesses and community enterprises. Being proactive and investing in commercial solar energy is seen by their buyers and customers as a significant effort to address their carbon footprint. earning the respect of their clients and suppliers and enhancing their brand image and increasing goodwill.
Small and medium sized organisations are able to demonstrate their proactive commitment, resulting in improved staff recruitment and retention, and potentially more repeat customer business.
Are you interested in finding out more about renewable energy technology for your organisation?
Features of Solar Panels
Commercial Solar Panels are Low Maintenance
With no moving parts solar panels require very little maintenance other than a good cleaning regime to maintain efficient electricity generation. An annual inspection will ensure they are maintaining expected performance levels.
Energy Security
Energy security considerations and increasing energy costs are driving the move to generate energy onsite. A Commercial Solar Panel system is a tried and tested solution proven to reduce costs for the long term and deliver savings and energy security.
Commercial and community sites tend to use the bulk of their electricity during daylight hours and solar renewable energy directly reduces demand from the grid during the most expensive periods.
The UK electricity grid was built on fossil fuels and as these are phased out the role of renewables increases. This is a desirable result, but one drawback of renewables is that they are intermittent by nature. If the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, then we need alternatives. Nuclear energy addresses this to a degree and the emergence of grid level battery storage will increasingly help. However, as demand increases frailties are exposed. Large amounts of power are simply lost in our inefficient and costly transmission process.
Reduced Energy Bills
Energy bills are continually increasing, driven by ever rising environmental taxes and transmission charges. Almost 65% of electricity bills today are made up of non-energy costs. Installing solar panels secures your own long-term electricity supply at a fraction of the cost.
A typical commercial solar panel system will provide free electricity for more than 25 years, cut carbon emissions, achieve annual returns of up to 18% and pay back installation costs within 6-8 years.
Commercial Solar PV installations cut energy bills from the moment they are installed. When installation and maintenance costs are factored in it is calculated that the energy produced by solar panels costs around 70% less than grid energy. The size and location of your installation will have a bearing on this so you should use this as an average.
Generating energy on your own site eliminates transmission losses, secures your supply, and cuts costs and emissions.
Solid Investment
Commercial solar panels are a sensible and secure investment and they quickly deliver consistent and steady returns on investment (ROI). The end of the Feed in Tariff has impacted domestic installations, but businesses continue to enjoy significant benefits.
Supply and installation costs have fallen dramatically over the last 10 years and the increasing disparity between grid energy costs and solar power is stark, amounting to a close to 70% difference.
Most generated energy can be used onsite to replace grid power and any that isn’t used can be exported back to the grid to provide an additional financial return. In the foreseeable future the use of storage batteries will result in all generated power being used onsite.
COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECTS
We can support your community group through the entire process, starting with a site evaluation, planning application, system design, installation, and online monitoring of the system.
Contact us and one of our renewable energy experts will get in touch to discuss your options.
Finance
CAPEX: Funding your solar panel installation with you own capital (CAPEX) provides the best long-term return over the lifetime of a renewable energy system and will accelerate your payback period significantly.
If you choose to use CAPEX you could be eligible to offset up to £100,000 of your investment through your annual investment allowance. As part of our consultancy approach, we can help evaluate this possibility.
Renewable Energy Finance: Asset Finance
If your capital is tied up, you can eliminate significant up-front costs via a range of asset finance solutions suitable to your circumstances. We can help tailor your package to maximise your savings on electricity. Every installation is different, but many organisations find they are cash positive from day one.
Planning Permission
In most cases planning permission for solar panel installations on commercial and community buildings is not required. and are considered as ‘permitted development’. Listed buildings are treated differently and an application to the Local Planning Authority is required.
Would you like information and advice?
Many people businesses that considered installing solar panels were discouraged following the removal of the FiT payments, in 2019. Whilst this is regrettable, the overwhelming evidence shows that a commercial solar panel installation is an excellent investment producing low-cost renewable energy for the long term.
We can help evaluate your situation and offer information and advice on how you can benefit.