Solar Power For Shopping Centres

Maximising your shopping centre asset to reduce cost and reduce carbon

Fully Funded Solar Solution Calculator

Shawton Energy works with shopping centres and shared retail sites to harness solar power by installing 100% fully funded, high- quality Solar PV systems, utilising existing rooftop space.

Retail is often part of a complex property portfolio, which each site having a completely different setup to the next one. We have extensive experience working across the varied models including working with single or multiple landlords, single or multiple tenants, single incoming meter or multiple meters. Due to their size but often complex roof layouts, our design team are experienced in designing systems that suit the bespoke nature of these kinds of estates.

Nature - direct power purchase agreements for solar solutions

Why choose solar?

In the past 12 months, energy bills have risen by a staggering 96%. With Solar PV, you can reduce electricity bills by up to 30%.

Meet CSR objectives.

Solar power can produce substantial savings for your business.

You can work towards carbon net zero.

Show your environmental commitments to your tenants.

Allow your tenants to promote that they use renewable energy.

Help your tenants on their own Net Zero journey.

Being able to offer cheaper and greener energy to your retail clients will make your property more attractive that those that don’t offer this.

What is a Power Purchase Agreement & how do we approach the project safely?

Businesses can switch effortlessly to low-cost, green solar energy without any upfront costs with a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

We are co-owned by Lazard Investment, a global investment firm and bank, and have allocated £250m of funding for commercial renewable projects. This investment in Shawton Energy demonstrates our standing in the market and with over 100 projects completed to date across various sectors we are in a great position to help more businesses transition to greener, cheaper energy.

Our PPA helps businesses transition to generating green energy through technologies such as solar, but with zero upfront investment or ongoing operational costs.

We design, install, operate and maintain the solar project through a long term contract ranging from 15 to 25 years in length, and you agree to buy the energy produced by the solar assets at a secured, fixed price throughout the contract which is much lower than what you would buy off the grid.

We continue to operate and maintain the project once it has gone live through both remote analysis of the project and physical inspections on an annual basis to ensure that the solar is creating as much energy as possible.

At the end of the contract term, we hand the solar across to you and will continue to produce free solar energy for years to come.

Where the current electricity demand suggest a solar project with only partial coverage of your rooftops, then there are a number of options available to your business.

If we can secure export at your site, we could oversize the project and Shawton Energy trade the excess energy and either rent your rooftops for a fee or even provide you with free electricity at the site where we have oversized.

By looking at each of your sites as individual projects we can provide you with a number of options to not only commercialise your rooftop real estate but also ensure your sustainability objectives are being met and providing your customers additional value whilst ensuring you stand out from the competitive environment you are currently in.

We are able to look at projects as small as 500m2 in size and would only need some basic information initially to understand the options available and present some initial options to consider as a business.

power purchase agreements for commercial solar PV solutions

The Commercial Value Streams for your Business

By providing renewable energy to your clients you have the option to increase your service fee/rental costs due to them being able to access cheaper, greener energy
If you sell the energy to your tenants then you are able to charge them the same but make more revenue as the PPA price for solar will be cheaper than the grid price
If export is available on site, you can secure long term secure revenues to rent out the rest of your roof to Shawton Energy, ensuring you are maximising your real-estate footprint.

How does the Power Purchase Agreement Process Work?

If your energy usage and roof space meet specific criteria, you can benefit from free solar PV installation financed by us through a PPA. Once we have confirmed your eligibility, we’ll partner with you to get to know you and your facility’s energy consumption.

This is part of our five-step approach, beginning with an inital meeting, a desktop feasibility study and then a technical site visit. Once we’ve assessed your rooftop for solar suitability, we create a proposal based on your consumption, showing a detailed projection of your cost & carbon savings over the course of the PPA.

Our Initial 5 Step Approach

5 step power purchase agreement purchase for solar energy

Why would you choose a Power Purchase Agreement with Shawton Energy?

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Your property is increased in value and attractiveness with zero upfront investment or ongoing opex

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Immediate savings which can be passed onto your customers

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The assets sit on Shawton Energy’s balance sheet and not yours

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You don’t have to worry about the ongoing maintenance or operation of the solar assets

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You & your customers are less vulnerable to the volatility of grid prices

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You buy the energy produced by the Solar PV at an agreed price for the duration of the contract. If the sun doesn’t shine or the assets are not working then you will not pay for the energy.

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You enter into a long term partnership with a trusted energy partner

Case Study

Shawton Energy is currently in final discussions with a large property owner who owns a number of large, out of city centre, retail centres.

They want to future-proof their business and show their commitment to the environment to their tenants to ensure they can secure longer tenancy agreements and also create an additional revenue stream.

Each Solar PV system would be around a 500kWp system comprising 1200 high-quality solar panels to off- set high energy demand from the various retail customers that occupy their site.

Making sure the centre’s customers are not impacted by the project, we are going to deliver the project outside or core business times to allow for uninterrupted consumer experience.

Before installation is due to be carried out, the Shawton Energy team will introduce a full site compound, scaffold access and handrails to ensure safe access to all working areas.

For this project, additional structural supports on the roof would be required for the installation of the Solar PV system. We would work with Shawton Engineering, our sister business, to fulfil this requirement and utilise their extensive experience working roof structures across various sectors.

The installation would see the centre generating its own renewable energy, and it’s forecasted that the solar installation would help the business achieve savings of £3 million on their energy bills over 25 years whilst saving 135,492kg of carbon every single year.

92,000

GBP Reduced On Average Annually In Electricity Bill

135,492

kg Of Carbon Saved Annually

3M

Money Saved On Electricity Bills In 25 Years

500

kWp Solar PV System Size

FAQs

Do you do projects throughout the UK?

Yes, we do projects from Scotland to the south coast. The sun’s intensity does vary throughout the UK however we have many projects in Scotland and the north of the UK that still have great commercial and carbon savings.

Will the installation of solar panels disrupt my business?

No. Our team will ensure your business’s day-to-day operations are not disrupted and ensure your employees and fans do not have an inferior experience at your site.

Do I need planning permission?

Smaller projects no longer need planning permission if it is on the roof. It will just need permitted development applications made and we do all of this on your behalf.

If I have land and/or a car park, is there a way of leveraging this space also?

Simple answer is yes, however we would discuss what is possible at our initial call and include areas where we feel it makes sense commercially and technically. Solar Car ports for example are becoming an attractive option to utilise retail centre’s large car parks.

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