New venture offers solar power without upfront costs

Knight Frank has teamed up with Zestec Renewable Energy for a new UK solar power venture. 

The partnership with Zestec, which is owned by renewable energy investor Octopus Energy, is designed to accelerate the adoption and rollout of fully funded rooftop solar PV systems across the UK. It will allow Knight Frank’s clients to implement rooftop solar PV systems without any up-front capital expenditure.

Zestec will implement a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) model, which includes fully funding the capital and operational expenditure of each solar asset, allowing businesses to benefit from "significant savings" from onsite renewable power with no up-front cost. The PPAs will run for 10-30 years with various options at expiry.

David Goatman, head of energy, sustainability and natural resources at Knight Frank, said: “As businesses across the UK seek to reduce their carbon emissions and deal with high energy costs, it is imperative they embrace affordable and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. Solar power is the most cost-efficient form of onsite renewable energy generation at most of the property assets we deal with.”

Simon Booth, CEO of Zestec, said: “We have an ambition to scale in this exciting sector of the renewable energy market, an ambition Knight Frank also share.”