Solar for Business

Solar for Business is a scheme run by West Suffolk Council which provides and installs solar panels onto the roof of your business for free! Electricity is generated from the panels and sold to you at a rate lower than your current electricity tariff to help you cut your energy bills.

Benefits

• Cut your energy bills at a time when the cost of energy is rising.
• Reduce your carbon footprint.
• Further enhance your brand image.
• Have a positive impact on your community.

It is easy for your business to sign up to the scheme. West Suffolk Council will:

• plan and design
• finance
• install and maintain the solar installation.

The installation is relatively quick and easy to minimise the disruption to you business.

Our aims

Suffolk’s public sector leaders have committed to supporting Suffolk to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and the Solar for Business scheme is one way that West Suffolk Council are supporting businesses on that journey. The council also want to promote economic development by laying the groundwork to help ensure business growth continues to be a key role of the council. If we can make it easy for you to save significant sums of money on energy bills, it allows you to focus on expanding your business and achieving your ambitions. Our Economic Growth team is always happy to discuss how we may help further. We also make a small income through electricity sales which enables the council to continue to reinvest in renewable energy projects helping more businesses reduce their costs and have a positive environmental impact.

How to sign up

1. You express your interest in the scheme, let us know who owns the property and send us a copy of your last electricity bill.
2. We will visit your property to assess its suitability for supporting solar panels and to discuss your rate for the solar electricity.
3. If your property is deemed suitable, the panels will be installed along with an inverter, a smart generation meter and a smart export meter to allow for accurate billing and monitoring.
4. Once the system is up and running you will be sent invoices twice a year, in January and July, for the electricity consumed during the previous six months.

The system is remotely monitored to ensure its performance is maintained resulting in minimal disruption to tenants however, we may need to visit the site to take meter photos for verification, or to arrange maintenance. We will contact you in advance of required works.

Business testimonies

Denny Brothers

Testimony: “By working with the council we know that the scheme has been well researched, installed and will generate a predicted value both for the council and us.”

Precision Marketing

Testimony: “Precision were thrilled to take part in this scheme. To supplement our existing roof solar with a further 99kW made absolute sense to us as we constantly strive to reduce our carbon footprint. The West Suffolk Council proposal met our generation requirements, was well planned and the installers operated efficiently with minimal disruption. Despite the lack of sunshine this summer the new panels are still generating a significant amount of electricity, we powered our entire operation by solar for several days in July.”

Animax

Testimony: “This is a win win for both Animax as local employer reducing our grid electricity consumption, as well as helping to reduce our carbon footprint which fits to further work switching to 100 per cent recyclable packaging for our animal nutrition and health products whilst allowing local council savings to be pumped back into local initiatives and services.”

Frequently asked questions

How will the PV system be maintained? 

The system is remotely monitored to ensure its performance is maintained resulting in minimal disruption to your business. From time to time, we may need to visit site to take meter photos for verification, or to arrange maintenance. We will contact you in advance of any required works. 

West Suffolk Council monitor the performance of the solar panels so any issues are quickly resolved. Where an engineer is required to visit your site, we will notify you and fix the fault at no cost to you. West Suffolk Council own and fully maintain the solar panels.

Can I sell my business after the solar panels have been installed?

You can sell your business with the solar panels. The purchaser of the business or building would have the opportunity to take over the lease and therefore benefit from the cheap electricity from the panels.

Am I tied into a contract?

The council and the business owner enter into a 25 year lease. The lease is a landlord or tenant lease with the solar panels becoming a ‘tenant’ on the roof. The building owner maintains ownership and control of the roof.

Following the first year, the contract rate will be adjusted annually on 1 January based on the average consumer price index (CPI) percentage change for the preceding year. Contract information including payment terms are included within your Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that runs alongside your lease.

How does the council calculate my business’ electricity bills?

Your onsite consumption is calculated using automatic readings sent to us from the solar PV generation meter and the export meter. The difference between generation and export readings shows the number of units consumed onsite. This figure is multiplied by the cost per unit of electricity to produce your bill (example below).

When will my business be invoiced?

The council will invoice you for your electricity consumption on a every six months for the duration of the term detailed in the PPA. You will be invoiced in January and July each year.   

What does the council use the income generated from the Solar for Business scheme for?

The council makes a return on each Solar for Business installation which is used to cover the council’s cost for installing and maintaining the systems. Funds are also reinvested to support wider decarbonisation projects and to grow the Solar for Business scheme. The scheme supports local businesses, community groups, and charities helping them to reduce their utility bills and carbon emissions similar to yours. Furthermore, the Solar for Business scheme helps the council meet the Government’s aspirations for local councils to become more commercial, helping them become financially sustainable and continue to deliver and improve local services.

Do I have to notify my insurance providers?

We recommend that you notify your insurance company that solar panels are being installed on your building.

Will I still be charged for electricity by the mains grid supplier?

You will still receive an electricity bill from your mains grid supplier as the PV system is unlikely to meet all your electrical demand over the winter and during the evenings when there is less sunlight. The PV system has been set up so that it automatically supplies the building with solar electricity before grid electricity is consumed, so your total electricity expenditure will be lower than if the system wasn’t installed.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for the scheme you need:

1. a building located within the West Suffolk Council’s or Babergh and Mid Suffolk Council’s district boundary
2. a minimum electricity consumption of 5,000kWh per year. For example, if you are paying 25p per kWh this equates to electricity bills of £1,250 per year.
3. a roof that can support the weight of solar panels and is suitable for the solar panel fixings to be installed. West Suffolk Council will commission a structural survey to check roof suitability.
4. suitable electrical connections – the solar contractor will determine suitability at design stage. 

Please note we are not currently accepting applications for solar installations on roofs of listed buildings.

How electricity moves from the solar panel to your business

1. Solar panels absorb solar energy to produce an electrical charge as they become energised by the sunlight. The electrical charge creates a direct current of electricity.
2. DC current is transported to an inverter. The inverter converts the DC current into AC (alternating current) current to be used in your building.
3. Generation meter measures the total amount of electricity generated by the system in kWh.
4. All AC current generated is available for your business to consume.
5. Export meter measures the total amount of electricity that is not consumed on site and is exported to the mains grid in kWh.

Next steps

For more information or to sign up please contact solar@westsuffolk.gov.uk

To help us understand your electricity consumption please attach a recent electricity bill on first contact and indicate if you own the premises you would like the panels installed on.