Energy efficiency fund launched for green businesses

Adam Hewson, director of ReEnergise Finance said that they felt there was demand among small and medium businesses for this type of fund.

He said, “Businesses are facing many challenges today. To remain competitive, most Finance and Operations Directors will be continually reviewing their cost lines. Increasingly for many, expenditure on energy has become or is fast becoming a critical factor in overall business profitability. 

The fund sets its initial capital at £5 million, but there would be no upper limit for British public and private sector organisations. It is aimed to finance projects valued between £25,000 and £250,000 such as solar PV, biomass, wind turbines and anaerobic digestion. It would also look at energy efficiency measures to be undertaken within the business, like insulation, voltage optimisation and upgrading of lightening.

“The imperative is to reduce energy use (and therefore costs) and to consider how energy efficiency and cheaper, sometimes subsidy-backed, renewable energy generation can lower energy costs in the medium term”, Hewson said.

“This all requires investment – sometimes small cash amounts and sometimes larger capital intensive investment.  Our aim is to provide an intelligent source of energy efficiency and renewables finance, through funds such as ReEnergise SmartEnergy Finance, for just these kinds of projects.” 

He added, “The savviest businesses are not only regarding energy as a painful and costly challenge but as a way of creating competitive advantage in their market.  Lower energy use means lower costs that can be passed on to customers.”

Further reading:

Why investors should consider community-owned renewables

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UK top performer in attracting wind energy investment

Why investing directly in renewable projects is a worthwhile venture

The Guide to Limitless Clean Energy 2013