Solar installer, Lark Energy Commercial has revealed that it has adopted SunEdison’s commercial power purchase performance (PPA) offering.
Lark Energy Commercial claims that the structure of the PPA allows commercial clients to save up to 50% on their energy bills for no capital outlay.
Commenting on the company's move, Jonathan Selwyn, managing director of Lark Energy, stated: “We know there are a growing number of companies who have identified solar as a key element in their carbon reduction strategy but that don’t necessarily have either the free capital available or can justify investing in non-core business at this time.”
Selwyn told Solar Power Portal that the companies that will benefit the most from the product are larger blue-chip companies because the counterparty has to be credit worthy; “BBB rating and above really. It would tend to be a company with that kind of credit rating.”
According to Alexander Goodall, SunEdison’s national commercial director: “This PPA is specifically designed to enable the deployment of solar PV with ‘blue-chip’ and investment grade off-takers without the requirement for a roof-lease or any other registered interest in the property.”
Selwyn added that he believes the companies that will most benefit from the program are the “larger blue-chip companies”, and that the program in itself is meant to incentivise companies who are hesitant to take the bait and install rooftop solar.”
Selwyn believes that this PPA will help companies move forward towards solar if they had previously been hesitant. “I think this new product will help quite a lot because a lot of companies have looked at rooftop solar but have gotten a bit bogged down in the legal arrangements with leases and various different agreements that they have to enter into. A lot of them won’t want to sign into something that constrains their ability to leave premise, and makes that more complicated. I think this will help. In terms of where there are landlords, the simplicity of this should help and enhance their capital values”
He acknowledged that companies who installed their own solar arrays would have a better monetary return, yet asserted that this option was good for the companies who did not have the “free capital” and wanted a quicker return.