UK business energy users are reducing their energy costs to beat the economic downturn - without raiding their capital or taking out expensive loans.
Combined heat and power (CHP) specialist ENER-G is reporting accelerated uptake of its pioneering Discount Energy Purchase scheme, which gives cash strapped organisations access to energy efficient CHP technology, without any upfront investment.
ENER-G pioneered its pay-as-you-save Discount Energy Purchase scheme in the 1990s and since the recent economic downturn more than 50% of its CHP systems are purchased using this cash saving financial model.
With no capital outlay for equipment or installation, clients can benefit from an immediate reduction in their energy costs and carbon footprint. The CHP system is then paid for via a metered energy charge that is guaranteed to be lower than previous electricity purchase costs. The plentiful supply of captured heat is supplied free.
Sales Director Ian Hopkins said: “The Discount Energy Purchase concept is very simple and places virtually no risk on our clients. We select and install a CHP system that converts primary fuel into electricity and heat more efficiently than the UK generating mix and conventional boilers. Because the cogeneration system is more efficient, we are able to charge less for electrical output than the grid, provide free heat and still recoup adequate funds to cover the investment cost and ongoing maintenance of the system. Our clients can use their capital to fund core projects and sit back and enjoy bottom line savings from CHP.”
Among those businesses benefiting from funded cost and carbon savings is Tangerine Confectionery, which has five ENER-G cogeneration and trigeneration systems funded through Discount Energy Purchase.
Peter Sanders, Operations Director for Tangerine, said: “We are continually seeking ways to raise our environmental performance and this move to on-site generation of power is a key element of our carbon cutting strategy. ENER-G is able to provide us with a total service, from initial design to long term care of the systems. This has required no capital investment by the company as the technology is being supplied by ENER-G in return for us purchasing the generated electricity at a very favourable rate."
Trafford Community Leisure Trust has also used the Discount Energy Purchase scheme to install ENER-G's cost and carbon saving CHP systems at a number of leisure centres.
Hopkins added: “we have clients that have enjoyed the benefits of Discount Energy Purchase for 15 years and are now replacing their equipment under the same simple contract structure. DEP is a very effective way for companies to regain some control over their energy costs while electricity rates continue to rise.”
Combined heat and power - the simultaneous generation of electricity and useful heat - is typically 90% efficient for on-site energy consumption. It is around twice as efficient as conventional power generation where the generated heat is wasted and further losses of approximately 7% occur in transporting the electricity from remote power stations to end users.
CHP achieves cost savings of up to 40% over electricity sourced from the grid and heat generated by on-site boilers. Systems primed by natural gas or other fossil fuels will reduce carbon emissions by approximately 20%.
ENER-G are Europe’s leading provider of packaged CHP systems with over 700 installations in the UK and sister companies in Holland, Poland, Romania, Hungary, USA and Italy. The company design, build, operates and maintains CHP units across Europe, with approximately half of the installed assets deployed under the DEP scheme. ENER-G's CHP systems are available from just 4kWe to over 5MWe in size and can be deployed across the commercial, industrial and public sectors.
