Energy and sustainable technology
Our experienced solicitors provide support and advice to co-operatives and mutuals on all aspects of saving, buying and producing energy.
We will help you to navigate the often complex issues involved in saving, buying and producing energy. We work to support social businesses, whether you are a generator or supplier of community energy, looking to improve SAP ratings of your stock, replacing your communal energy systems or requiring Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) arrangements to save energy.
We understand the impact that living in cold conditions can have on your tenant’s health, education and work outcomes and have advised social business organisations on large-scale rooftop energy installations to biomass boilers and district heating systems.
The reductions in the Feed in Tariff (FiT) initially saw a decrease in the use of rooftop solar installations, however they are now making a return and are no longer reliant on FiT subsidy. The issues with funders still exist but can be overcome.
Changes in the energy market make producing your own energy and selling on any excess a realistic prospect, this is exciting proposition for both high and low-energy use business. In addition to producing energy we have advised central Government, through the Energy Saving Trust, on the different funding models for retrofitting schemes to save energy.
We can work with social business organisations to develop asset management strategies such as installing external or internal wall insulations, to reduce fuel poverty and improve living conditions for tenants.
Funding energy improvements to non-tenanted assets, through savings from utility bills, can be a complex but ultimately rewarding way of investing in communal or commercial assets. We have extensive knowledge and experience of managing the risk areas in these EPC arrangements including the extent to which savings are guaranteed, re-basing energy costs when changes happen in your organisation and looking at defects and response times if energy-saving equipment turns out to be faulty.
We also have considerable expertise in understanding the different funding regimes for energy saving works and their impact on subsidies. We have advised on multi-million pound schemes subsidised through CESP (Community Energy Savings Programme), ECO 1 and 2, renewable heat incentive payments and also funding through ERDF priority axis 4 – promoting the shift to a low carbon economy. Understanding the funding regimes and compliance is key to a successful project.
Our saving, buying and producing energy service
At Anthony Collins Solicitors our experienced energy team regularly work with co-operatives and mutuals to advise on all aspects of saving, buying and producing energy, including:
- Supporting organisations looking to improve SAP ratings of their stock.
- Advising on replacing communal energy systems, such as large scale rooftop energy installations to biomass boilers and district heating systems.
- Advising on Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) arrangements to save energy.
- Supporting organisations to improve the living conditions of tenants.
- Advising social business organisations on developing asset-management strategies.
- Supporting and advising on producing and selling energy.
The opportunities to produce green energy, sell energy or save energy through retrofitting to lift tenants out of fuel poverty have never been greater. We are committed to this agenda, and this helps us to understand your overall objectives and drive projects through with you on this basis.
