EnergyEstate

There are thousands of large industrial estate roofs in the UK, just sitting there ready. Many buildings already have three-phase supplies with usable export capacity. Daytime demand aligns well with the solar generation curve, and projects are quicker to deliver than large-scale renewable schemes.

EnergyEstate is a collaboration between a business and a community energy organisation.

We are grateful for the support and trust placed in us by East Devon District Council. We won a bid to their Carbon Action Fund, with the project part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This is intended as a pilot that can be replicated, not a one-off.

What is EnergyEstate?

For a business in an industrial estate building there is usually already a strong case for installing solar PV and battery storage. Daytime usage is higher than domestic, and commercial electricity costs are higher too.

A community energy organisation funds part of the system. This allows the system size to increase, dramatically reducing the cost per kW installed (close to half in our case). That means either a much larger installation, a lower overall cost, or both.

The community energy organisation receives a fair share of the export profits. This delivers better returns for both parties than separate, smaller projects. For the community energy organisation it can make all the difference, turning what would otherwise be a non-starter into something financially viable.

The business benefits from much higher energy self-sufficiency, lower energy costs, and improved energy security with reduced exposure to volatility. Decarbonisation happens faster and at lower capital cost. The wider community benefit should not be underestimated either. Many of these businesses are well rooted locally and value being part of a practical solution.

A straightforward contract covers future scenarios such as the sale of the building, or a significant increase in on-site consumption, with a memorandum of intent to accompany that. 

For the community energy organisation, this model unlocks access to projects that were previously not viable. It creates a fair, long-term income stream from export revenue and provides an alternative to field-based PV projects, many of which are currently stalled due to grid constraints.

Our example

If we were installing solar just for ourselves, we would have chosen 52 panels with around 10 kWh of storage. That would have made us roughly 75% self-sufficient. We would have applied for the same grant, but just for our own benefit, and this would have qualified. However we saw an opportunity for a much more ambitious project with far greater community benefit, as well as increased carbon savings and increased support to the local economy. 

As an EnergyEstate project, we are instead installing 156 panels with around 25 kWh of storage. This increases energy self-sufficiency to 91%, and should deliver an estimated £2,300/yr to ECOE Advice as its 60% share of export profits. 

Exeter Community Energy Advice provide home energy and retrofit advice and guidance - supporting their services reduces people's bills (a direct help to those households and a boost to the local economy as well), and result in cumulative carbon savings.   

The grant amount we successfully applied for is that same amount as we would have applied for under the smaller 52 panel scheme. That has made this pilot project possible, and once the case is proven and we widen the scheme out, the community energy organisation would raise their own funds for their contribution. In our case if the grant had been raised by ECOE Advice then their estimated payback is less than 9 years.  

Each project will be slightly different, and so the percentage split will vary depending on how much of the energy is used by the host business, how much is exported, and what payback the community energy organisation needs to make it viable. 

Local energy trading is the cherry on the cake

Participation in the Bloom renewable energy network allows peer-to-peer trading between local businesses. This provides better export prices and lower costs, reduces strain on the wider grid, and is very simple to join and operate. There is a facilitating energy company which the business shifts to and they only supply renewable electricity - so that's another added benefit. 

We intend this to be a model that councils, businesses, and community groups can copy. The contract we create will be made available as a template for other projects.

What’s next? 

Installation by Bloom Renewables starts on the 9th Feb, and we will provide updates as we progress.
Assuming all goes to plan, and there's no reason to think that it will not, we will then actively promote the approach, with an open invitation for businesses and community energy groups to get involved.