Finance

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) from Bee Eco

Bee Eco is now able to offer businesses & Social landlords a fully funded end to end solution for Solar PV, enabling them to lower their energy costs and carbon emissions.

• A range of high quality products
• Surveys and Installations carried out by reputable partners with technical expertise
• An independent audit for all installations
• Ongoing maintenance
• Comprehensive insurance cover and a yield guarantee
• Suite of funding options including Free Solar PV
• After sales service and support

• Capital Expense - Customer pays for the goods and all the Financial Benefits (Feed-in Tariff, Export Bonus and power savings) are theirs
• Free – Customer pays nothing and receives the power savings generated by the solar panels. The customer does not receive the Feed-in Tariff or the Export Bonus, social landlords can also benefit from a small roof rental in most cases.
• Lease Purchase (on balance) - Customer leases the goods and the Financial Benefits pay for the costs of the lease (cost positive). There is usually a balance left for the customer from year one, at the end of the agreed lease period the customer pays a token fee and the goods and ongoing Financial Benefits are theirs.
• Operational lease (off balance) - Customer effectively rents the equipment, thus deeming it off balance, the Financial Benefits go towards the costs and usually leave the customer with a small profit for years 1-7; after year 7 the customer can continue to rent the equipment and the costs are reduced leaving the customer with a larger profit.
• Hire Purchase - Customer takes out a loan and the Financial Benefits go towards their quarterly costs.

Please note that all finance is subject to approval

Quality, Service and Insurance

• Through a partnership of key suppliers, technical experts and installers we deliver the solution that best suits the customer.
• To ensure we continue to achieve the highest workmanship standards for our customers, every installation is independently inspected by specialists appointed by the insurers, providing reassurance that the installation will be right first time.
• We aim to develop a close working relationship with our customers which continues after the installation with ongoing maintenance and support.
• All installations come with a unique 12 year comprehensive insurance cover which can even be extended to include the loss of, or reduction in, Feed-in Tariff as a result of an insured defect.

The Customer Journey

Stage 1 – Required Information

It is important to establish the following basic details about the customer’s site(s):

• Site address including postcode and pin point or outline the relevant building(s) on a Google Earth image
• Does the customer own the freehold
• If the customer does not have the Freehold is the lease greater than 15 years
• Have they any existing renewable technology on site
• Have they looked at Solar PV for this site before and what was the outcome
• The unit cost for electricity
• Their annual electricity usage

Stage 2 – Desktop Survey

From the Google Earth image and data gathered in Stage 1, an informative proposal is created, showing:

• The potential size of a suitable system
• Associated costs of the proposed system,
• ROI for a Cap Ex, Lease and free funding / payment models.

It will take circa 10 working days to produce a desktop survey

Stage 3 – Site Survey

Once the customer has had time to go through the desktop proposal and has confirmed they are keen to progress, a site survey is arranged. If Bee Eco are paying for this then a Project assist must be signed and the contractor will be expected to pick up these costs.

The site survey will:

• Establish the exact areas Solar PV could be installed
• Look at any structural issues with the building(s)
• Identify the best place for equipment
• Look at all possibilities to maximise ROI and output
• Identify any possible obstacles or areas of concern that could affect the final proposed solution.

A site survey can usually be arranged within 7 working days

If a customer is extremely keen on installing Solar PV or has looked at it before, then they can miss out Stage 2 and go straight for a site survey

Stage 4 – Final Report

Circa 6 working days following the site survey a report is created that shows the final suggested solution, the associated costs and ROI for a Cap Ex, Lease and Free models.

Stage 5 – Planning and the District Network Operator (DNO)

Once a customer has gone through the final report and wants to progress to install, then with their written approval, we will:

• Check if planning permission is required (usually only required for a listed building, conservation area or an area of scientific interest)
• Liaise with the DNO to ensure the site’s proposed Solar PV solution can be connected to the national grid and it can take the extra power generated.
• The planning and DNO check can take up to 50 days to complete
• In some instances the DNO might require extra work to be done to accommodate the additional power generated, this decision by the DNO has to be justified and is overseen by Ofgem
• If additional costs are required by the DNO and these impact the proposed funding model, then we will present an alternative solution to the customer, which takes this into account

Stage 6 – Funding Agreement

If the customer chooses the Free or a Lease funding model, they will need to sign an agreement with the funder.

• For the Free funding model, there is a straight forward landlord / tenant 20 year lease contract to agree, this can be adjusted in places to take account of certain specific requirements.
• For a Lease funding model the customer must first provide a copy of their last financial year’s accounts, after which a meeting will be arranged with the funder and the customer’s financial decision maker to determine the best type of lease / payment plan and associated timescales that suits both parties.
• Once the above has been agreed, an agreement is drawn up for both parties to sign. This highlights how solutions are tailor made to fit a customer’s circumstance.

Stage 7 – Installation

Once Stages 5 and 6 are completed then an installation date is agreed. Customers should allow at least 2 weeks before an installation can take place. All installations are carried out by highly qualified and reputable installers,

Stage 8 – Sign off

All installs have to pass an independent inspection before they can be signed off.

Following the install the customer will be shown how to use and monitor the Solar PV system and made aware of all relevant details regarding ongoing maintenance and support.