Banking industry’s new enthusiasm for funding renewable energy

We were up early today to attend a seminar organised by NatWest and hosted at the pleasant surroundings of the business centre at Worcester RFC. Aimed at manufacturing businesses and their suppliers,  a large section of the speakers were talking about energy and more specifically, how the bank could lend them the money to create their own.

This makes us rather pleased because when we approached the banks a few years ago with a view to their providing our customers with finance,  there was no appetite whatsoever. The banking industry’s new enthusiasm for funding renewable energy further confirms that the concept of  installing,  generating and using your own energy for your own business is going mainstream and we like that. Our one beef is that they continue to refer to this as green energy.  We wish they wouldn’t.  It’s just energy and the manufacturing businesses present aren’t too concerned about it being green. They just want to know that their energy supply is secure and that the costs of it in five,  ten and twenty years time isn’t going to put them out of business. Gradually, the sentiment towards investment in self-generation capacity has changed from ‘nice to have’ to strategically sensible. 

The case for large energy consumers to install PV on their roof space has never been stronger and with mainstream funders such as asset finance provider, Lombard, now able to offer finance to credit worthy businesses, it’s never been easier.