UrbanVolt are a leading provider of affordable, clean solar energy in the UK and Ireland. We offer fully funded, clean energy solutions, with over 400 projects build and under operation across the UK, Ireland, USA, and continental Europe. Our flagship solution is Solar-as-a-Service.
FAQs
General FAQs
What is Solar-as-a-Service?
UrbanVolt’s Solar-as-a-Service offering provides your customers with access to rooftop solar installations without any upfront costs or complexities. We work with EPCs to handle the cost, design, installation, and maintenance, allowing the customer to pay only for the energy they use from the solar panels.
What is the value in partnering with you vs just arranging a loan for the customer?
With a loan, the customer must take on debt and commit capital. With Solar as a Service, there’s zero capex – they just pay for the clean energy they use. Payments are tied to the actual energy generated, so costs always align with savings. Therefore, we are incentivised to maintain the system’s performance for the contract term.
What is a PPA and how does it work?
Solar-as-a-Service is contracted under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). A PPA is a long-term contract between a power producer (UrbanVolt) and a customer to buy electricity at a fixed price.
How is UrbanVolt’s PPA different?
UrbanVolt uses a less onerous form of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) model, where the customer only pays for the energy they consume from the solar system. The rate is generally lower than traditional utility costs, offering immediate financial savings.
What are the contract lengths and rates?
UrbanVolt contracts typically range from 10 to 25 years, providing stability for the customer by locking in fixed, guaranteed rates that are targeted at 30-40% savings vs grid.
What happens if the customer moves or sells the property?
UrbanVolt’s contracts are transferable to the new property owner or tenant. This allows flexibility for businesses that may relocate or sell their property during the contract term.
Many of my customers lease their properties. Are they still eligible?
Absolutely. We actively collaborate with landlords to highlight the advantages of Solar-as-a-Service. Our fixed rates reduce energy costs and the installation of solar boosts the EPC rating of buildings, making properties more appealing to prospective buyers, tenants, and landlords. We can also align to a customer’s lease length.
Are there particular segments where Solar-as-a-Service works best?
UrbanVolt primarily services mid-large I&C customers. Installations over 100kWp with high self-consumption are ideal for Solar-as-a-Service. Example industries include manufacturing, food and beverage, and agriculture. Of course, UrbanVolt can assess the viability of a customer during qualification.
How do you fund projects?
We’re backed with £40m project funding from HSBC to expand our project portfolio. We also hold the financial security of being part of Verdane – one of Europe’s leading sustainability funds.
What size of projects do you fund?
We fund projects of 100kWp up to 3MW for I&C customers.
Are there any specific credit requirements?
The end customer requires a credit score of 75 or above on Experian. Failing this, we would look to explore alternate contracting entities or a parent company guarantee.
Can I bring you deals that are already in late-stage design?
Yes! We would simply need to validate design, yield, and adherence to our funding checklist.
How do I track my deals?
You can track your deals through the UrbanVolt partner portal. We’ll send you updates as your lead progresses.
What geographies do you work in?
We partner with EPCs in both the UK and Ireland. If you’re located elsewhere in Europe, we’re happy to consider this on a case-by-case basis.
Fund Your Solar Projects FAQs
Are your partnerships short or long term?
Both! We’re happy to partner with EPCs for both one-time projects and multiple installations.
Will you support sales training and onboarding?
Yes! UrbanVolt has extensive experience rolling out Solar-as-a-Service in partner organisations and are happy to work with you on your L&D requirements.
Can I white-label or co-brand?
Yes! All our desktop proposals are white labelled. UrbanVolt act as your supplier, providing support when needed.
Do you work with EPCs of a particular size or market focus?
We work with I&C EPCs. Providing the EPC meets our certification and compliance requirements, we are more than happy to worth with I&C EPCs of all sizes.
What is P90 methodology?
P90 is a conservative production estimate that the solar system is 90% likely to exceed. It reflects a downside case based on uncertainty in weather, system performance, and modelling assumptions.
Think of this as your ‘bankable’ energy output. Investors use the P90 figure when structuring returns to ensure projects still work financially in a low-sun year.
Do you require use of any specific equipment?
We require Tier 1 panels (referring to the Bloomberg classification of PV panels) and Solis inverters.
Sell Solar as a Service FAQs
What is a PPA and how does it work?
Solar-as-a-Service is contracted under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). A PPA is a long-term contract between a power producer (UrbanVolt) and a customer to buy electricity at a fixed price.
What are the benefits vs a capital sale?
Instead of purchasing and operating the solar infrastructure through CAPEX, UrbanVolt installs, owns, and maintains the system on the customer’s site. In return, the customer pays for the energy it consumes, as they would for their grid energy bill.
What are your credit requirements for Solar-as-a-Service contracts?
We require the customer to score 75 or above through Experian.
What if my customer has already looked into solar but found the upfront cost prohibitive?
This is a perfect opportunity to present UrbanVolt’s Solar-as-a-Service model. Unlike traditional solar purchasing models, UrbanVolt requires zero upfront investment from the customer. This makes the transition to solar energy accessible to customers who couldn’t proceed due to high initial costs.
Where do we fit in the sales process?
You generate leads and qualify the customer for solar, presenting a white-labelled desktop proposal to the customer. If the customer is happy to proceed, UrbanVolt will perform a site visit and progress the project to closure.
Who owns the customer relationship?
You retain the customer relationship for their energy procurement. UrbanVolt will take care of the solar aspect, arranging cleaning, maintenance, etc.
Do you provide marketing materials?
Yes! An array of marketing materials are held on our partner portal, helping you find what works best.
Do I need to be certified or licenced?
No certification or licencing is required.
Do I need technical knowledge?
Your knowledge of the customer’s energy estate is extremely valuable in the sale. UrbanVolt are on hand to field any technical queries, whilst answering common queries in our sales materials.