By Freccia Benn - (2 min read)
Renewable energy makes good business sense - it's a great way generate income, create jobs, and have a positive impact on the environment, which is why so many businesses and landowners up and down the country invest in it. However ensuring you are receiving accurate land rent payments for these investments is far from simple, and is a challenge even for the most experienced in-house legal and accounts teams.
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Substantial back-payments. Lower energy bills. New revenue streams.
Dewlay Cheesemakers
By Freccia Benn – (5 min read)
Dewlay Cheesemakers are a leading green example in the dairy industry and have seen significant results following our audit. The owners of the family-owned business pride themselves on their longstanding reputation for great foresight, vision and for producing Lancashire’s finest cheese. Working in an energy-intensive industry can mean big bills and a high carbon footprint, with sustainability at the heart of all they do, Dewlay invested in a turbine to mitigate this.
Before meeting us, Dewlay had worked with their turbine operator for a long time and were happy with the detailed information they were given, but with tariffs that are constantly changing, and so many complicating factors to consider, it’s difficult for the most informed renewable energy landowner to continuously stay up to date. This is where we were able to add value.
Through our review we secured a seven year back payment which equated to a year’s income and moving forward their rental income will increase by 12 percent. Our detailed audit included a performance report on their turbine which gave Dewlay a deeper understanding of the wind farm’s historical performance and its contribution to the local environment, it also outlined the cost savings for each turn of the wind turbine upon the request of the CEO.
Through our review we secured a seven year back payment which equated to a year’s income and moving forward their rental income will increase by 12 percent.
Companies that work with us can understandably be cautious about how their relationship with their wind turbine operator will be affected and we make it our priority to protect this, as we did in this case.
Another concern prospective clients have is whether our audit will take up too much of their working day. Dewlay were able to continue their business as usual, while we worked in the background creating all the historical analysis with clear audit findings that could be easily presented to the site operator.
We were delighted that Dewlay’s CEO, Nick Kenyon, who with his brother is the third generation to run the business, gave us five minutes to share his thoughts on working with us.
How do you feel about your original lease agreement? On reflection do you feel it was fair?
At the time it was fair but knowing what I know now I would have tried for a better deal.
How surprised were you that Accounting for Energy were able secure you an increase in income?
I was surprised by the amount they were able to secure.
Your revenue significantly increased after Accounting for Energy reviewed your lease, what impact has this recalculation had?
It gives us the resources to consider further environmental saving measures within the business. We are continuously looking to improve our environmental sustainability credentials and so this gives us a greater scope to do so.
What were your thoughts on Accounting for Energy when you first heard about them?
I’m sceptical of anybody who works on a contingency basis.
Would you recommend Accounting for Energy?
Yes – they clearly have expertise in this area and were good to work with.
Creating a greener environment is clearly high on your priority list. What motivated you to delve into renewables?
High energy costs in what is an energy intensive industry, as well as a desire to reduce our business carbon footprint.
Our review identified that the wind farm has produced a significant amount of electricity so far. How have renewables reduced your bills?
They have given us some price stability in what is a volatile energy market. We still have a National Grid connection of course, but the more energy we take from the turbine the less we take from the grid. This makes environmental and business sense.
It’s well known that the dairy industry has high energy usage. Was this instrumental in your decision to go for an audit?
Energy leases are notoriously complex and difficult to understand. We really didn’t have the expertise or the time to be trawling through the lease and power purchase agreement so when we came across Accounting for Energy it was an easy decision to get them on board. We didn’t suspect anything to be wrong, but we knew it was good practice to check.
Accounting for Energy's comprehensive audit identified that:
To read our case study explaining our the work we carried out and how we were able to help Dewlay lower their energy bills and identify new revenue streams, click the icon below:
For further information, please contact:
Freccia Benn
Co-Founder
0203 876 0324
It was a pleasure working with Nick and Ben at Dewlay. To find out more about their work, click the icons below:
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