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May 12, 2019
Renewable revenue is the money that is generated through the use of renewable technologies. It can be in the form of domestic, agricultural or commercial. This could be the next door neighbour’s house with solar panels on the roof or the farmer down the road with a wind turbine.
Renewable revenue comes in the form of Feed In Tariffs (FITs) or through the Renewables Obligation scheme, in the form of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs). The FITs are a guaranteed, tax-free income that started in April 2010 and are index linked to inflation, for 25 years. ROCs, on the other hand are sought by electricity companies to prove that a percentage of the electricity they provide has come from renewable energy generation – this is under an EU Directive. The value of ROCs can fluctuate according to market forces, such as in 2014/15 and 2016/16, when the market was oversupplied and demand dropped.
Much like mobile phone contracts or mortgages, some offer better contracts/deals than others and one thing we at Zevon Energy always recommend is that you “shop around”. We meet with generators regularly and more often than not, many are unaware of the finer details of their contract such as; who it’s with, how much they’re receiving for both ROCs and electricity, and how soon they are free to terminate their contract.
As a generator you have the right to negotiate the best PPA for you and your system. If that means going down the “road less travelled” to get a better deal, then we recommend that. Quite often it generators will choose to go with a particular company because their neighbour is with them or they were the first company they saw on google. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are providing you with the best price/deal. What does the “road less travelled look like”? It’s taking the necessary time to shop around and seek at least 2-3 prices for comparative purposes.
At Zevon Energy we not only aggregate ROCs from our renewable energy generators totradeevery month, we also aggregate electricity to use a “strength in numbers approach” to obtaining the best price for electricity. We do not have an obligation to buy ROCs to prove that we are sourcing electricity from renewable means, as we are not an electricity supplier. We are an aggregator and our aim is to obtain the best price for our generators.
Given the volumes of electricity generated by technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels or anaerobic digesters, the difference of a few pence or half a pence over thousands or sometimes millions of kilowatts year-on-year can amount to substantial payments.
So, if you are a generator seeking to leave your current provider or simply looking around for comparative purposes, we are happy to help and can provide clear advice for you. Feel free to give me a call directly on 07398 647 939 or send me an email.