Bristol-based specialist energy investment company Thrive Renewables has joined forces with a renewable energy developer to enable businesses to install solar panels and use the power they generate.
The firm has developed a new financing framework which provides the funding for Olympus Power to install hundreds of commercial solar arrays. 
Exeter-based Olympus is looking to fund up to £75m of commercial solar installations.
The agreement is Thrive’s first solar roof initiative, building on its ‘direct wire’ approach where businesses benefit financially and environmentally from the electricity they generate on site.
is seeking businesses with suitable adjoining land or roof tops that wish to install solar panels on their property.
The electricity will then power the host businesses through a direct wire with any excess exported to the grid.
Olympus will provide each project with lifetime maintenance cover through their operations & maintenance business.
Thrive Renewables managing director Matthew Clayton said: “Thrive is very pleased to provide funding to enable businesses to reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint using onsite solar power. We hope this will be the first of many such agreements with project developers.
“By installing solar PV off balance sheet and providing a long-term zero carbon power supply contract, we can help businesses transition to cleaner operations and potentially take significant steps on their journey to net zero.
“We’re looking forward to working with Olympus on this project. Small-scale decentralised energy generation is a key part of reaching net zero.
“It will help get more renewable capacity built in the UK and distribute the electricity generated locally, reducing losses.
“The funding framework we have developed is an efficient way of financing portfolios of projects. It can be adapted for other technologies and we would welcome the opportunity to do similar deals in the future.”
Olympus managing director Simon Nicholls said the business was ready to start delivering the installations.
“It’s a great opportunity for businesses to get closer to net zero with cheaper, greener power. We’ve already committed to over 100MW of projects and there are more to come,” he said.
“Commercial rooftop solar is a massively underserved part of the net zero trajectory and is a key part of creating a cleaner, less wasteful way of generating power.”
Thrive was advised on the deal by Bristol-headquartered national law firm TLT.
The TLT team was led by banking partner Gary Roscoe, with support from partner Kay Hobbs, partner and head of clean energy Maria Connolly, legal director Stuart Urquhart and associate Andrew Russell.
The multi-disciplinary team worked with Thrive on all contractual and funding aspects of the project.
Gary Roscoe said: “We are seeing increasing interest from investors in smaller scale, localised energy generation, which will play a key part in reaching Net Zero. This is Thrive’s first solar roof initiative, building on its ‘direct wire’ approach where businesses benefit financially and environmentally from the electricity they generate on site.
“We are delighted to be able to support Thrive in another innovative partnership, which will hopefully accelerate other new developments and help businesses realise the potential for other behind-the-meter solutions.”
Matthew Clayton added: “We were pleased to work with TLT again and appreciate the breadth and depth of their experience and their understanding of our needs as a business – both what’s needed today and to deliver our future plans.”
Thrive Renewables was part of Bristol-based ethical bank Triodos until 2016, when it was known as Triodos Renewables. Although fully independent of Triodos, it is based at Triodos’ Bristol city centre HQ and the bank retains a major shareholding.
Thrive offers opportunities for individuals, foundations and funds to invest in clean energy projects that deliver financial, environmental and social rewards.
It has a community of around 6,250 investors and its portfolio currently comprises 17 renewable projects. It had assets under management worth more than £117m in 2018 and a portfolio that is reducing 97,000 tCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions.
In February it announced plans to invest up to £6.5m in the UK’s first geothermal electricity power plant.
The plant in Cornwall aims to supply around 3MW of electricity to the National Grid and up to 12MW of renewable heat for local use.
