Electron Green, a commercial solar electricity firm, is promising to invest up to £1 billion towards the installation of free solar panels.
The company is hoping to attract businesses who are wishing to lower their electricity costs, by offering them a lower-cost alternative to installing solar panels. Instead of businesses being forced to pay for the solar panels up front, requiring a large capital outlay, Electron Green will instead offer to install the solar panels and then sell the electricity it generates back to you – at a cost.
This isn’t the first time businesses have offered to install solar panels for free, and has proven a lucrative opportunity. It was far more common when the feed-in tariff would help boost the pay-back for firms, however given the recent increased costs of electricity, there is still profit to be made.
Typically businesses offer their roof space for 25 years, with firms covering the cost of installation and maintenance of the solar panels. The electricity generated by those panels would then be sold back to the business at a lower cost than they would pay their energy firm, but enough to help cover the cost of the solar panels.
For Electron Green, the company says that it will be offering a price of ‘as little as’ 20p per unit of electricity, which is about half of what a residential customer would pay on a standard day time tariff. Businesses could be paying much more, especially given the lack of Government support, meaning it could reach as high as 70p per kWh for some firms.
The £1 billion investment to install solar panels will reportedly pay for the installation and maintenance of some 3.4 million solar panel systems across 14,000 commercial buildings, according to Electron Green. However, the £1 billion is expected to be spent quickly, with demand for solar panels now sky high.
Daniel Green, CEO and Co-Founder of Electron Green commented, “Businesses cannot continue to be at the whim of Big Energy and market volatility. It’s time to shake up the energy buying status quo and embrace low-cost on-site renewables.
“£1 billion would enable thousands of businesses to take back control of their electricity energy spend for the first time. Adding low-cost green solar electricity to businesses’ energy mix will significantly reduce bills by enabling them to use more cheap solar electricity in lieu of expensive utility electricity, providing certainty in an increasingly uncertain world. This is essential to not only save the SME backbone of our economy from breaking but to also hit net zero goals.”
Calculations based on Solar Energy UK figures, show that just 1% of commercial property roofs in the UK have solar panels and landlords have been identified as a significant blocker of investment to date. While it’s hoped this will change as landlords adapt to meet increasingly stringent sustainability-led EPC rules by 2027, there’s a clear need for more to be done now to support businesses and reach net zero goals.
Green continued, “Landlords have been standing in the way of cheap electricity for tenants, but it’s time for them to move aside. Sustainability rules will hurt business models sooner than many realise. Putting solar on rooftops now is a critical step as they adapt portfolios in the race to 2027.”
Phil Adam, Partner, Head of Infrastructure Advisory, Debt & Capital Advisory, Deloitte LLP added, “We are delighted to be supporting Electron Green with their scaled focus on the commercial solar market assisting their UK corporates reduce their energy costs and meet their net -zero targets.”