This is well illustrated by the solar panel
sector which, despite being one of the simplest and cleanest ways
to generate electricity, has not been taken up en masse in the
UK.
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This is partly because they are expensive to
buy, install and maintain, and while efforts to lease them have
been made, they have not come to fruition.
One reason for this is the lack of legislation
favouring the financing of solar panels.
Solar Century, one of the UK’s main
manufacturers of photovoltaic technology, announced plans in early
2008 to start a solar power leasing package to charities and
private sector organisations. This has not materialised in the UK,
but it has in Germany thanks to its Renewable Energy Law – which
aims to make renewable energy price competitive with traditional
energy sources. Germany’s solar energy capacity is 200 times that
of Britain’s.
But innovation in the UK’s renewables market
is taking place – and in a way which will benefit lessors. Brook
Henderson, an infrastructural services business, is looking to
invest heavily in clean energy provision through its Olive Green
Group business.
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By GlobalDataA key area for investment is in wind ventures
in which Olive Green expects to spend up to £30 million (€31.8
million) over the next 12 months.
So far Olive Green has acquired the land and
machinery to build a wind farm in High Haswell, Durham, and is
putting in place term facilities with The Co-operative Bank,
Triodos and Barclays for asset finance to fund the construction of
turbines. It already has a power purchasing agreement with one UK
retailer, and several other projects are in the “course of
acquisition”.
While a relatively new business, wind farms
could prove to be lucrative business as the government has a target
to produce 15 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020. A
problem area is getting planning permission, particularly as the
military says wind farms interfere with its radar.
Olive Green is also investing in biomass
plants – which source energy by burning wood – and is in the
process of acquiring sites in Cornwall, Somerset and South Wales in
which to build plants with capacities of 1.2 megawatts, 2.5
megawatts and 5.2 megawatts. The business is in discussions with
lessors for long-term finance of at least 10 years, and expects the
first plant to be running next year.
Biomass-sourced energy – a growing phenomenon
on the continent (in Denmark half of its energy comes from biomass)
– is reportedly 75 percent efficient, far higher than for
conventional energy sources.
