Free Business Solar Panels

Catalyst Partners with Solar2Energy to Bring Free Business Solar Panels to UK companies

Catalyst, a UK market leading energy consultant who provides energy procurement services, sustainability and environmental services, announced their partnership.  Through this partnership, Solar2Energy will be offering its full end to end photovoltaic solution to catalysts clients to allow them to benefit from their own on site generation with no capital outlay.

This is possible due to Solar2Energy securing solar funds totaling over £100 million, to meet the capital outlay for purchasing, installing and maintaining solar PV installations for commercial use.

Solar2Energy provides an integrated commercial solar proposition to Catalyst’s clients and continuously monitors the equipment of the plant to detect operation failures or under-performance spots.

Catalyst then provides real-time and secure collection and recording of statistical data, as well as reporting according to the operators’ needs. Reports can be obtained directly on a desktop or through web browsers and email. With long term rising energy costs, the demand for onsite energy generation is set to grow significantly over the next 12-months.

How does it work? Catalyst conducts an initial desktop survey to determine a company’s typical energy usage and maximum solar potential. From this initial assessment, we present a custom designed solar proposal for a system that will match their requirements. If this is a commercially viable proposition we will then arrange for a further detailed onsite survey.

If the customer is happy to proceed, Solar2Energy will own, install and maintain the solar panels without the worry of the high initial investment or the hassle of connecting the system to the national grid.

The solar panels are always on, so all the while it is daylight, the panels help to power the business, and the customer pays a significantly reduced monthly bill for the power they use.

“This new option makes it easier and more affordable than ever before for companies to take advantage of the financial and environmental benefits associated with going solar,” said Chris Hurcombe, Managing Director of Catalyst. “There are thousands of companies who want to go solar, but haven’t been able to proceed because of the upfront costs. Now they can.”

The benefits associated with choosing solar energy are significant. As utility rates are expected to continue to increase, solar electric and solar hot water systems give consumers the means to take control of their long term utility costs.

Businesses that take advantage of solar technology can significantly reduce their monthly utility expenditures. “Catalyst is recognised as one of the market leading energy consultants operating in the UK today, and we are genuinely excited about delivering our solar solution to their clients” commented Solar2Enenrgy Managing Director Caroline Joseph.

If you would like more information on our range of Free Business Solar Panels or would simply like to find out how Free Business Solar Panels could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

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Ofgem hired private accountants to investigate energy giants’ profits

The UK’s energy watchdog, Ofgem, has hired the services of  private accountants from BDO to scrutinise how the “energy giants” calculate their profits. So far five out of the so called “Big Six” energy and gas suppliers have increased prices despite wholesale gas and energy prices registering multi-months lows.

BDO is the world’s fifth largest accountancy organisation and it was hired by Ofgem to improve transparency over the pricing policies of the energy companies and give consumers more clarity regarding the relationship between retail prices and wholesale energy costs.

The group of forensic accountants will investigate dodgy practises, trading profits and wholesale prices. Since March, when Ofgem noticed that energy suppliers raised prices in response to higher costs faster than they reduced them when costs dropped, hence the idea of hiring an independent consultancy firm to provide a third opinion.

On the other hand suppliers have their side of the story and blamed world events for pushing up energy and gas prices. They also argue that price rises are necessary in order to keep retail operations profitable.

But those arguments were not enough to convince the energy regulator. BDO’s investigation should last approximately four months and a report is expected before the end of the year. Ofgem will then take into consideration BDO’s findings before publishing its official report.

If you would like more information on our range of business solutions or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

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Business Energy Efficiency for Small to Medium Sized Business (SMEs)

The latest business energy report from npower indicates that over half of UK’s small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) have no energy efficiency measures in place and nearly 20% of the country’s 4.8 million SMEs don’t even monitor their yearly business energy consumption.

According to the Carbon Trust SMEs have greater potential for improving their business energy efficiency when compared to larger companies. The Trust says that SMEs savings could reach up to 20% for SMEs compared with up to 8% for large businesses.

But according to Patrick Harvey from npower there are promising signs. For instance SMEs that are monitoring energy consumption and business energy efficiency have reported savings of up to 10%. These companies implemented simple, quick-win measures that enabled them to start saving on their business energy bills.

Another positive sign is the fact that business energy costs and efficiency have scored the highest in importance since 2005, according to DataMonitor early survey which is part of npower Business Energy Index (nBEI). The report indicates that business energy costs and security of supply are amongst the biggest threat to a businesses performance. Hence the importance of monitoring and implementing energy efficiency measures.

Unlike larger corporations small to medium sized businesses can make substantial savings on their business energy bills by implementing simple and none expensive measures. For instance turning off equipment when not in use.

According to a report from E.ON, UK businesses are wasting about £30.8 million a day by leaving their PC equipment on standby which, depressingly, establishes that nothing has changed in five years despite the huge amount of advice and support available.

“The greatest driver for increasing energy efficiency [for SMEs] is cost, rather than the environment. This is why it is surprising that so many are still not measuring the positive impact that implementing energy efficiency measures can have on their business.” – said npower’s Patrick Harvey.

The first step for SMEs to start saving on their business energy efficiency is to conduct an energy audit on the premises to identify areas for significant improvement that may not have been previously identified. The best way to conduct an energy audit is by hiring an energy consultancy firm as using consultants simply provides an independent and fresh approach to evaluating opportunities that can add value.

If you would like more information on our range of business energy efficiency solutions or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

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Business gas prices fall while bills continue to rise

Wholesale gas prices has hit it lowest levels since November last year. The same happened to electricity prices on the open market which also hit the lowest points over the past week. But not surprisingly energy bills continue to rise and E.ON was the next to follow suit and raised its bills by 18pc blaming high commodity costs.

Since peak prices in March, gas prices have fallen 22pc and electricity is down 19pc. Gas for winter 2011 is trading at 68.15p per therm and electricity for winter 2011 is at £54.76 per megawatt hour, back down to the level seen in early March before the Japanese earthquake.

Even so four of the Big Six suppliers have increased their tariffs. The first one to raise prices was British Gas followed by Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern and now E.ON. All blaming higher wholesale prices on the Japanese earthquake, Middle East tension and Germany’s decision to faze-out its nuclear power plants.

Another excuse used by the companies it that they buy their wholesale gas and energy a long time in advance, but even that is not acceptable as forward curves for the commodities indicate prices at five month lows with a downward trend. With commodities prices’ falling it is a good time to revise your energy contract.

It is advisable to look for flexible energy contracts because if the commodity markets continue to fall households and businesses may find themselves locked into high tariffs when wholesale gas and electricity are actually falling. Wholesale gas and energy prices are on clear downtrend when we look at the forward curve.

Prices have fallen consistently since March. Gas pricesare at a year low and electricity prices are also at multi-month lows and it is ironic to say the least that those suppliers are again raising their prices.

According to market predictions from the Deustche Bank, UK gas prices should remain at lower rates for the next three months as stated by Michael Hsueh of the bank’s Fixed Income Research: “A warm spell and improved supplies have resulted in lower prompt prices, widening the spread to the oil-indexed contract price to 25p per therm, a level not seen since September 2010.”

Companies that consume over 30 GWh/year and want to avoid higher energy bills when energy and gas prices are falling should seek help from energy consultancy firms and ask to engage into flexible energy and gas contracts schemes. These contracts allow companies to be more responsive to changing electricity prices throughout the year.

If you would like more information on our range of business gas prices or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

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Energy Market Report August 2011

Our monthly analysis of the UK gas and power markets is now available on line for the month of August 2011. The service is intended to keep you up to date with all the major news in Europe’s gas and power markets. It is also designed to keep power executives focused on market activity in an easy to digest format.

Your find our August 2011 report here and all historical energy reports can be located here.

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Save up to 20% on business energy bills by cutting refrigeration costs.

Refrigeration accounts for a significant percentage on energy bills of businesses that rely on it. Costs with refrigeration could be as high as 70% of the total business energy expenditures. In order to help businesses reduce their energy bills the Carbon Trust released a guide to help businesses cut their refrigeration expenses by up to 20%.

Refrigeration consumes considerable amounts of energy be it for households or businesses. At home the best we can do to cut costs with refrigeration is to buy A+ rated refrigerators and freezers while for businesses there are more alternatives to cut expenditures with refrigeration.

These alternatives or steps are listed on the Carbon Trust guide released on the 20th of July. The guide is entitled Refrigeration Systems and offers no to low costs steps that businesses can take to cut their refrigeration energy bills by up to 20%.

The guide also offers tips and advice for businesses of all sizes from small shops with refrigerated cabinets to food processing trades that rely heavily on refrigeration.

Small shops with refrigerated cabinets are advised to purchase high-efficiency display cabinets which are listed under the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) scheme – these can use 30% less energy than a non-listed cabinet.

Businesses with cold rooms are advised to use an air-tight store with good door management, lighting and defrost control. Recovering waste heat can help to reduce boiler energy consumption by up to 30%. One option is to fit a new refrigeration system with an energy saving “desuperheater”.

A process chiller of 800kW properly engineered for UK temperatures with good part-load capacity and efficiency could generate savings of up to £25,000 a year, says the Trust.

Carbon Trust director of delivery services Richard Rugg commented:

“Any business seeking to cut its costs should be looking at its energy bills and for many companies’ refrigeration accounts for a large part of those energy costs. Savings of up to 20% are possible with simple no and low cost steps. If your business uses refrigeration, it’s an opportunity that’s too good to miss.”

If you would like more information on our range of services or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

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