ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY ESCOs INNOVATIVE FINANCING SOLUTIONS Helping you to cut the cost of your energy and secure its supply
THE PROBLEM A challenging energy landscape THE SOLUTION BDO New Energy Financing The challenges of the current energy landscape are forcing businesses to re-think established ways of doing things. The pressure on bottom lines from expensive fossil fuel energy is being compounded by an uncertain supply market meaning that rising energy prices will not be going away any time soon. There is also an increasing risk of outages from the next decade as the UK s old, inefficient power stations are not being replaced at a sufficient rate to maintain our supply capacity. All this, against a backdrop of shareholders and customers expecting more in terms of ethical and responsible management of scarce resources, means that your activities are likely to be under greater scrutiny than ever before. Cutting and greening energy consumption are obvious solutions in the current challenging climate. We can help you finance efficient new systems which have the added advantage of earning you money. Generate your own (green) energy Biomass, wind, anaerobic digestion (AD) and solar (PV and thermal) are reliable technologies which could reduce your running costs and your carbon emissions. Consider does your business have: South facing roofs suitable for solar panels? Remote sites suitable for wind turbines? An organic waste stream eg from your restaurants or shops which could be used in AD to produce biogas? A high heat load and feedstock storage space suitable for a biomass boiler? The generous Government renewable subsidies and enhanced tax relief currently available can make switching to renewables a good financial decision for your business particularly if you use oil or LPG currently. Reduce your energy consumption Even if you don t want to go the self-generation route, cutting your power bill by investing in energy efficient technologies makes good business sense. This is particularly the case if you have heavy loads such as from data centres witness Google and Facebook s recent examples of innovative efficiency solutions. HOW TO FINANCE YOUR NEW SYSTEMS A BDO Energy Services Company (ESCO) solution can work for you by: Providing the upfront capex for your energy project Allowing you to repay this finance out of the resulting energy savings and subsidy income over the project life Generating a project IRR of around 20% and sharing these returns between you and the funder.
HOW TO DO IT Steps in setting up a BDO Energy Services Company (ESCO) We will use our accumulated energy finance expertise to tailor a solution that is right for your business and support you every step of the way. AT START OF PROJECT 1. You and your funder set up ESCO as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) 2. ESCO puts in place access leases for all your sites 3. Investor provides ESCO with 100% funding 4. ESCO purchases and installs new energy systems at your sites OVER PROJECT LIFE 5. You pay an annual rental for each new energy system to ESCO 6. Financial returns are generated by the energy savings and reduced CRC payment arising and in the case of renewable energy installations FiT * and RHI ** financial incentives 7. ESCO repays debt to investor AT PROJECT END 8. ESCO distributes its financial surplus, paying dividends to you and your funder. Your company Dividends and interest Investor 49% equity in ESCO 51% equity in ESCO 7 8 Repay Distribute interest and surplus principal Technology supplier 5 Rental payments 4 Install technologies ESCO 1 Set up ESCO Financial surplus builds up 3 INVESTOR funds ESCO 100% 2 Lease/access Your sites Operation and maintenance Service technologies 6 Energy bill and CRC savings FiT/RHI * Note: FiT Feed-in Tariff ** RHI Renewable Heat Incentive CRC Energy Efficiency scheme Utility company Government Financial Incentives: eg FiT 1 and RHI 2
ABOUT US BDO, one of UKs most active corporate finance advisers As the world s fifth largest accountancy network, we offer your business the full range of assurance, tax and advisory services We are proud to focus our expertise on mid-size organisations and businesses As one of the market leaders in renewable energy and clean technologies, we will use our sector experience to add value to your business Our track record in understanding our clients businesses, our contacts in the investor community and our negotiation skills have made us one of the UKs market leading M&A advisers. We are delighted to have received the support and backing of both the UK Green Investment Bank and Equitix. The support that BDO provided to us to secure this investment from these top tier investors was excellent and spanned the initial review of target investors through to contract negotiations. BDO s support has allowed us to offer a groundbreaking long-term solution for customers to reduce their energy bills and their carbon emissions without the need for up-front capital investment. PAUL HUGHES DIRECTOR OF ROUNDWOOD ENERGY bdo uk 22 Offices 1No. 300 Partners 3,500 Staff for exceptional client service 1 90% 76% of our clients would recommend us 1 already have 2 1. Independent research (Mid Market Monitor 2012 and 2013) undertaken by Meridian West shows BDO has the highest client satisfaction rating among its peers 2. Client Listening Programme 2012/13 Thompson Reuters Worldwide 2013 Volume League Tables H1 2013 H1 2012 Financial Adviser Volume 1 2 PWC 400 2 1 KPMG 341 3 9 Ernst & Young LLP 253 4 3 Goldman Sachs & Co 228 5 13 BDO 214 MICHAEL WARE Partner, Head of New Energy and Environment t: +44 (0)207 893 3354 e: michael.ware@bdo.co.uk Michael is a partner in BDO s Corporate Finance practice and has over 15 year s experience on infrastructure, PFI and renewable energy projects. His team advise on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects ranging between 5m and 100m, and have closed over 500m of transactions in the UK and Europe. A popular commentator on sustainability issues, Michael won The Spectator s Matt Ridley Prize in 2013.
CREDENTIALS Recent examples of how BDO s innovative solutions have helped our clients PROJECT TOUCAN 2013 Project Finance: 10m Biomass/RHI ESCO PROJECT EVANCE 2012 Project Finance: 4m Wind ESCO We advised Woodpecker Energy, a UK-based manufacturer of wood pellet and wood chip biomass boilers, on the set up of their ESCO, Roundwood Energy, and supported them to raise 10m of start up capital, including Green Investment Bank funding. One of the first deals to use project finance type structures to support smaller scale biomass installations, it is proving to be a template for institutional investment into this sector. Under this ground breaking solution, Roundwood Energy will be responsible for financing, installing, maintaining and fuelling new renewable heating systems in return for the secure income stream offered by the Government s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). Roundwood s customers in turn benefit from receiving efficient and low carbon heating systems without having to incur the upfront capital investment. The 10m investment will replace around 100 inefficient heating systems across the UK with cheaper, greener biomass systems at sites including care homes, schools, leisure facilities and local authority projects. We worked with one of the UK's leading small wind turbine manufacturing and installation businesses to finance a 4m onshore wind Energy Savings Company (ESCO) targeted at high wind yield sites in Scotland. The addition of an ESCO finance business to our client s existing product range allowed them to provide a free turbine package, effectively overcoming the upfront barrier cost facing potential customers. Under this model, our client s ESCO purchased a series of installed 5kW turbines from the manufacturer and received Feed-In Tariff (FiT) income for the electricity generated while the site owner, a major Scottish power utility company, granted the land lease for the turbines and received the electricity generated by the turbine for free. PROJECT VALLEY 2013 Project Finance: 5m Solar PV Portfolio/FiT We worked with Mark Group, the UK s leading energy efficiency and renewables installer, to raise 5m of debt to finance a 4MW portfolio of solar PV installations across 82 non-residential sites in Scotland. Under the project structure, income was received from the Government s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) renewable incentive and additionally from the local Council. PROJECT HONEYWELL 2012 Project Finance: undisclosed Energy Efficiency We advised Honeywell in respect of their Blue Sky Peterborough project. This project developed a framework whereby Honeywell will install energy savings and energy generation measures into public buildings in Peterborough and guarantee the level of energy savings to be achieved. The Council will either pay the initial capital cost of the project or require Honeywell to finance such arrangements and pay over 15 years from the savings generated. While the framework has been designed for Peterborough City Council, other public bodies may also access the framework. BDO provided financial modelling, commercial and tax advice in respect of the project.
For more information MICHAEL WARE Partner Corporate Finance t: +44(0)20 7893 3354 e: michael.ware@bdo.co.uk TOMAS FREYMAN Director Valuations t: +44(0)20 7893 2748 e: tomas.freyman@bdo.co.uk KIRIT MISTRY Partner Management Consulting t: +44(0)20 7893 2594 e: kirit.mistry@bdo.co.uk JEFF JONES National Head of Advisory t: +44(0)207 893 3808 e: jeff.jones@bdo.co.uk SIMON PRINGLE Head of Sustainability and Cleantech t: +44(0)20 7893 2760 e: simon.pringle@bdo.co.uk DAVID BEVAN Director Transaction Services t: +44(0)20 7893 2055 e: david.bevan@bdo.co.uk MARC REINECKE Partner Audit t: +44(0)20 7893 3159 e: marc.reinecke@bdo.co.uk LEE JEFFERSON Partner Tax t: +44(0)20 7893 3344 e: lee.jefferson@bdo.co.uk This publication has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as broad guidance only. The publication cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained therein without obtaining specific professional advice. Please contact BDO LLP to discuss these matters in the context of your particular circumstances. BDO LLP, its partners, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information in this publication or for any decision based on it. BDO LLP, a UK limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under number OC305127, is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. A list of members names is open to inspection at our registered office, 55 Baker Street, London W1U 7EU. BDO LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to conduct investment business. BDO is the brand name of the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms. BDO Northern Ireland, a partnership formed in and under the laws of Northern Ireland, is licensed to operate within the international BDO network of independent member firms. 2014 BDO LLP. All rights reserved. www.bdo.co.uk HB05838