When UrbanVolt funds a system, the question of who owns it and who looks after it afterwards comes up early in most conversations. Reasonably so, since it’s different from a standard CAPEX handover. Here’s how it works.
For background on how UrbanVolt’s EPC partnership model works, see How Solar EPCs Unlock Funded Pipeline with a PPA.
Ownership sits with UrbanVolt
UrbanVolt owns the system for the full term of the PPA. That’s the whole basis of the model. The client isn’t buying an asset but rather the electricity it produces, and UrbanVolt carries the asset on its own books for the duration.
For you as the EPC, that changes what a “handover” means. You’re not handing a completed system over to the client and stepping back. You’re handing it to a funder who’s going to own it for up to 30 years and has a direct financial stake in it performing well for every one of those years.
That’s why UrbanVolt is specific about design standards, equipment tier, and installation quality upfront. The checklist isn’t there to slow a project down, it’s there because the asset needs to earn its keep for a very long time, and getting it right the first time is far cheaper than fixing it later.
Maintenance: you get first refusal
Every UrbanVolt-funded system includes two years of preventative maintenance as part of the handover. That’s built into the project from day one, so the client is covered from the moment the system goes live.
After that initial period, the ongoing O&M contract goes out. As the EPC who designed and installed the system, you get first refusal on it. You know the site, you know the design, and you’re best placed to keep it running well. If you want the ongoing work, it’s yours to take.
That matters for two reasons. It gives you a second revenue stream on the same project, separate from the installation fee – servicing income that runs for years rather than a one-off job. And because you already know the system inside out, delivering the O&M contract is usually far more straightforward for you than it would be for someone coming in cold.
Why UrbanVolt cares this much about quality
None of the standards UrbanVolt sets – Tier 1 equipment, staged payments, full traceability, HSE compliance with stop-work authority during installation – exist because of a lack of trust in EPCs. They exist because UrbanVolt is the one holding the asset on its books for the next two or three decades. A funder who owns the system for that long has every reason to want it built properly, and that interest lines up directly with yours: a well-built system is easier to maintain, generates the yield it was designed to, and keeps the client happy for the life of the contract.
What this means for you in practice
You design it, you install it, and – if you want it – you maintain it. UrbanVolt owns it, funds it, and carries the long-term risk. The client gets electricity at a fixed rate with nothing on their balance sheet. Everyone’s incentives point in the same direction: a system that performs well for a long time.
If you’ve got a project in mind and want to walk through exactly how the funding and handover would work for that specific site, our team can talk it through before you commit any design time.
Interested in partnering with UrbanVolt? Take a look at our partner page, or contact us to talk through the process.