A Norfolk based firm is providing a new renewable energy option for landowners in the East of England.
Windcrop was formed in 2009 after a year in project development and completed second round equity fundraising in August. The company expects to complete around 400 installations by the end of 2011, growing capacity to around 1,000 installations a year over the medium term. It currently operates in East Anglia and plans to expand into other UK regions in due course.
The concept is simple. Windcrop installs a 5kW 15m wind generator and deals with all the planning and installation for the landowner.
There is no capital outlay for the customer, who is free to use the energy generated according to the demands of the site, paying just 5p/kWh for the power used.
Windcrop sells any surplus back onto the National Grid and guarantees to maintain the equipment for 20 years which also avoids headaches and administrative work for the landowner. Finance for the installation comes from institutional investment funds who buy the system revenue for the 20 year contract term.
"Our system enables farmers and landowners to benefit from low cost power generated on their own land" explains Windcrop MD John Moore. "The business model works because of the scale of our operation and experience and understanding of the sector. We’ve built up a significant stock of sites and we are seeing increasing demand from landowners who are not yet ready to commit their own capital", he added.
The method is clean and quick - the systems are installed within a day, minimising disruption to the site and allowing work to take place year-round, regardless of weather conditions. Windcrop takes care of all the administration, so it offers landowners a very easy method of accessing renewable energy.
For landowners that are ready to commit their own capital, Windcrop also offers a purchase option, but will only install on sites that meet their own criteria for funding the installation. ’There are too many installers applying hard sell tactics on wind generators for unsuitable sites’ comments John Moore.
Windcrop has also agreed a deal with Anglia Farmers who will provide billing services to all Windcrop customers.
