Part 2: How to build your business case for commercial solar power

Securing buy-in from stakeholders on transforming your energy estate can be challenging. And for an investment like commercial solar power, we know that you’ll need to balance several priorities.

In the first part of our guide to creating your solar business case, we explored the potential benefits of going solar for your Sustainability Manager, Chief Financial Officer, and Facilities Director. Read on to explore our second instalment, which highlights how you could secure buy-in from your Energy Manager, Procurement Manager, and Operations Manager.

Going solar for Energy Managers

Several key strategic areas are likely to fall under your Energy Manager’s remit. So, it's crucial that your solar business case accounts for the resilience, cost control and efficiency that they’re looking for.

For example, they're likely to prioritise long-term energy budget control. With volatile energy prices to contend with, this may have been difficult in recent months. But with a Power Purchase Agreement (Solar PPA), you could reduce your running costs for the long term. You’d pay an agreed PPA rate, usually set lower than the cost of grid electricity, over the approximately 25-year lifetime of your system. This could give you reliable, long-term control of your budget, at a lower rate than importing grid electricity.

Additionally, during the energy price crisis, solar protected many businesses from extortionate bills. By bringing their energy generation onsite with predictable pricing forecasts, they could reduce the impact of volatile energy prices on their budget. Your Energy Manager could take advantage of this too, helping your business to reduce its bills and become more resilient.

On top of this, your Energy Manager is likely to prioritise reducing risk in your business’ energy strategy. Part of this may include securing a reliable electricity source, shielded from grid outages or other interruptions to supply. With commercial solar power, they may be able to progress this goal.

Solar PV technology – when coupled with a comprehensive Operations & Maintenance (O&M) package – is a highly resilient solution, with typical system availability of over 99%. This can help your Energy Manager to reduce risk in your energy estate, by securing a reliable and predictable source of power away from reliance on the grid. All this can help them to build a resilient, efficient energy strategy.

Going solar for Procurement Managers

Across a range of contracts, managing risk and efficiency is a top priority for your Procurement Manager. And when energy is just one of many areas they’re responsible for, it’s crucial to ensure that it’s as straightforward as possible. This is especially true when tendering for a solar contract, when consistent scope is key to receiving strong project proposals.

With our solar packages, you can bundle in Operations & Maintenance (O&M) across your solar system’s lifetime. This simple contract means that you’ll be able to ensure your assets are cared for at a premium standard. With good O&M, you can then expect your system to last for around 25 years.

This can not only help you to secure a long-term solution for your business energy, but can help you to reduce the risk of operational failure. And if you've chosen to finance your system with us, you'll be able to wrap everything into one end-to-end-contract. So, your Procurement Manager will be able to manage every step of your solar system's lifetime through one simple deal.

Your Procurement Manager is also likely to prioritise ensuring your system is as high-quality as possible. If you choose to work with us, you can rest assured that your system is built to last. We use Tier 1 equipment, with high-quality materials designed to last across your system's 25-year lifetime. With our Health and Safety team on hand to support, you’ll know that every step along the way is designed to keep your people and property safe. And on top of this, our 200-year experience as leaders in the energy industry means you can rest assured we’re here to support you for the long term.

Going solar for Operations Managers

For your Operations Manager, improving your organisation’s efficiency with minimal risk and lowered costs is central to successful change. The costs of disrupting your everyday activity can have huge consequences for your business – and ensuring you have a steady supply of energy is just one part of this.

By bringing your electricity generation onsite with solar, you can bring control of your energy into your own hands.

Our market leading O&M packages have been designed to exceed industry standards. We utilise our Energy and Controls Centre to ensure maximum asset availability and performance. This highly skilled team use the latest technologies to monitor our customer assets around the clock, reacting to plant issues as they occur and managing incidents through to resolution.

Your Operations Manager will not only receive comprehensive monthly reports detailing current and historic performance of your asset, incident management actions and planned site activities, they will also have access to our customer portal providing a real time view of asset operation.

As such, with detailed information and a premier maintenance package on hand to help you to care for your solar system, your Operations Manager can rest assured that your assets are in safe hands.

Talk to our experts about your business case for commercial solar power

So, you’ve gathered the information you need to build your business case for commercial solar power. Are you ready to take the first step towards making long-term cost savings?

Our team of experts are happy to help you to develop your solar strategy. With over 20 years of experience delivering commercial solar solutions, we’re experts in managing every stage of the journey. To start your pathway to a solar-powered future, complete our simple form and tell us more about your plans.