Renewable Energy Consulting – PPA Partners, LLC

Site Evaluation

Determining the realities of what is possible at your site or project can be as difficult as ascertaining the best technology options. We review available space, and existing equipment and infrastructure, attempting to utilize existing equipment whenever possible. We review all possible sites, working with Industry standard practices to give you good information and make the most logical recommendations possible for your facility.

System Design

We evaluate your corporate energy goals, site options, existing equipment, and review your financial parameters. We determine what technology or technologies best fit this project. Then and only then do we design a/or several systems that meet or exceed your stated goals. There are no cookie cutter approaches; each system design is as unique as your business.

Energy Audits

We evaluate your usage and energy patterns, we analyze your utility bills, and then we run the spreadsheets on multiple scenarios, with a variety of technology options at varying levels of generation to determine the best scenarios for you.

We can as well audit energy bills for accuracy and negotiate on your behalf for preferred rates prior to finalizing a generation platform.

Contractor Selection

We commonly generate RFP’s for our customers along our identified technology recommendations. We then interview all applicants and review all proposals, bringing our top 3 to the table for your final approval, ideally providing the most cost effective and reliable solution available.

Financial Analysis

Determining the best financing options for you is a crucial step in the overall process. Whether a lease is best or an outright purchase makes the most sense, or any number of other unique renewable financing options should be utilized, we provide you with the resources and the information to make the most advantageous choice in the situation.

Project Management

One of the final pieces of the puzzle is overall project management. Overseeing the selected contractors and engineers, working with permitting and regulatory groups, coordinating with you and your staff to achieve the best solution, at the best price, on time, with minimal interruptions to your business and work flow.

There are as many ways to finance your project as there are technology options. Whether you are looking for a straight purchase or a variety of creative financing solutions we as well analyze and assist at this important step in project fulfillment. Numerous Lease, Power Purchase Agreements and other options are available to provide you a renewable solution, with costs that make sense in the short and long term.

Leasing

In recent years, leasing has taken on many new and creative formats, there is the standard equipment lease, tax leases, modified tax leases, capital leases and any number of variations brought forth to assist in the deployment of renewable technologies. Leasing is a solid position for acquiring a renewable technology for your business, in our evaluations, meeting with your CFO and tax advisers will allow us to place the preferred options in front of them. Payback varies dependent upon the options chosen from 5-15 years.

Purchase

Dependent upon your businesses structure and financial position an outright purchase is quite often a great option. Offering the shortest payback position of from 4-6 years. Then the electricity generated from the system is free for the duration of its functional lifetime.

Power Purchase Agreements

Power Purchase Agreements have been utilized by Utilities and large corporate energy users for years. In recent years, they have been offered to Renewables, most notably Solar, Wind and Fuel Cell systems.

A PPA allows for a system to be engineered and sited at your facility typically with no upfront costs, providing reduced electrical rates from day one.

Maintenance and equipment replacement is handled by the PPA group, terms usually are from 10-25 years with annual increases substantially less than your utility. Ownership, REC’s, rebates and tax credits remain with the PPA group. Some offer a purchase option at the conclusion of the agreed upon term, dependent upon your contract.

How Much Does This Cost?

First we offer an initial consultation on site or by phone at no charge. This includes a cursory analysis of your energy goals, your facility, your usage and energy patterns, and what you perceive the end result to look like both from a performance position as well as from a financial position. We then submit to you a general guideline of what is possible based on the information you provided us.

If you chose to engage us post this step we offer two forms of engagement, totally dependent upon your actual utilization of our services.

First, should you need someone to analyze your energy bills, or look over the varying bids of companies you have contracted with or plan on contracting with, help with regulatory processes, etc on a piece by piece basis, we have an hourly charge dependent upon what we are doing.

Second, we offer a more turnkey approach where we do the analysis, generate RFP’s for the chosen services, interview contractors, decide directions with you in the choice of those contractors, work with finance to get the best possible financial scenarios for you, and then project manage and oversee the project for you. In this form of engagement we are compensated by a small percentage of the total project. Atypically due to our experience in the industry, the RFP process, and our on site expertise, you will still actually save money, even with our compensation, over contracting this yourself.

At the time of our original analysis, we will formulate a plan based on your expressed goals etc, and let you know which would make more sense for you.

Our primary goals are to be your unbiased information resource, give you the benefit of our experience, and to assist you in the acquisition of renewable generation resources for your facility.

What is The Process?

The Process is remarkably simple and easy.

First call our offices and schedule a free, no obligation appointment.

Dependent upon your location one or more of our staff will come to your site to meet with you or conduct a preliminary phone analysis with you.

We will review your current or proposed energy usage, your facility, available space, your existing energy utilization patterns and what an optimum solution looks like to you.

From there we will prepare a preliminary cost and technology assessment for you. It will give you a realistic cost analysis and what technology options can potentially achieve your expressed goals.

Assuming you are in line with the technology recommendations and financial analysis, we will prepare a services agreement and cost estimate.

Upon acceptance, we will perform a much more exhaustive analysis, meet with your utility provider, meet with your facilities personnel, local permitting authorities, and generate quotes from several technology integrators to confirm our preliminary analysis and give you the true bottom line costs.

Dependent upon our agreed upon scope of work from our services agreement, from here we can arrange financing based upon your directions, and project manage the installation through to completion and commissioning.

Why Should I Use PPA Partners?

PPA Partners consulting practice is first and foremost your renewable energy information source.

Sifting through the hype, the conflicting information, and the sales pitches can be difficult for anyone. Our staff of industry experts is here to help you evaluate the technologies currently available to you in the marketplace, serving as your personal renewable energy advisors giving you factual information regarding the benefits and potential drawbacks of each technology. From there we determine the options for your project and present you with the various scenarios that fit your site spatially, financially, and that achieve your desired result.

We can at your request take it even further, generating and issuing RFP’s, interviewing contractors, bid analysis, and even providing project management from the permitting phase through final construction and commissioning.

We are above all here to help you implement an energy generation strategy that will carry your project or company forward conserving resources and finances in the most sustainable position possible.

What Is The First Step?

First call our offices and schedule a free, no obligation appointment.

Dependent upon your location one or more of our staff will come to your site to meet with you or conduct a preliminary phone analysis with you.

We will review your current or proposed energy usage, your facility, available space, your existing energy utilization patterns and what an optimum solution looks like to you.

From there we will prepare a preliminary cost and technology assessment for you. It will give you a realistic cost analysis and what technology options can potentially achieve your expressed goals.

Are There Size Limits?

There are no size limits; we are primarily here to help you determine viability, cost and system sizing. If post analysis it makes sense to engage us we will let you know, if not you will have an unbiased perspective on what is possible at your property and what it will cost and what to expect. That alone will allow you to make much more informed choices regarding technologies, contractors, and financing. If during your process you have more questions and needs than originally outlined, we would be happy to help.

I’m Not Even Sure Where To Start, Can I Still Use Your Services?

Actually, quite often we hear this from our customers; this is a perfect place to start.

Just call our offices and schedule the free, no obligation appointment.

We will review your current or proposed energy usage, your facility, available space, your existing energy utilization patterns and what you hope to achieve.

From there we will prepare a preliminary cost and technology assessment for you. It will give you a realistic cost analysis and what technology options are available to you….in plain English, and dollars and cents.

Can You Help Us With Financing The System?

This is a very important aspect of our service, our expertise as well stretches to the myriad of possibilities available in the financial community. Quite often there are as many ways to finance your project as there are technology options. Whether you are looking for a straight purchase or a variety of creative financing solutions we as well analyze and assist at this important step in project fulfillment. Numerous Lease, Power Purchase Agreements and other options are available to provide you a renewable solution, with costs that make sense in the short and long term.

Hydrogen is the simplest element. An atom of hydrogen consists of only one proton and one electron. It’s also the most plentiful element in the universe. Despite its simplicity and abundance, hydrogen doesn’t occur naturally as a gas on the Earth – it’s always combined with other elements. Water, for example, is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen (H₂O).

Hydrogen is also found in many organic compounds, notably the hydrocarbons that make up many of our fuels, such as gasoline, natural gas, methanol, and propane. Hydrogen can be separated from hydrocarbons through the application of heat – a process known as reforming. Currently, most hydrogen is made this way from natural gas. An electrical current can also be used to separate water into its components of oxygen and hydrogen. This process is known as electrolysis. Some algae and bacteria, using sunlight as their energy source, even give off hydrogen under certain conditions.

Hydrogen is high in energy, yet an engine that burns pure hydrogen produces almost no pollution. NASA has used liquid hydrogen since the 1970s to propel the space shuttle and other rockets into orbit. Hydrogen fuel cells power the shuttle’s electrical systems, producing a clean byproduct – pure water, which the crew drinks.

A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat, and water. Fuel cells are often compared to batteries. Both convert the energy produced by a chemical reaction into usable electric power. However, the fuel cell will produce electricity as long as fuel (hydrogen) is supplied, never losing its charge.

Fuel cells are a promising technology for use as a source of heat and electricity for buildings, and as an electrical power source for electric vehicles. Fuel cells operate best on pure hydrogen. But fuels like natural gas, methanol, or even gasoline can be reformed to produce the hydrogen required for fuel cells. Some fuel cells even can be fueled directly with methanol, without using a reformer.

In the future, hydrogen could also join electricity as an important energy carrier. An energy carrier moves and delivers energy in a usable form to consumers. Renewable energy sources, like the sun and wind, can’t produce energy all the time. But they could, for example, produce electric energy and hydrogen, which can be stored until it’s needed. Hydrogen can also be transported (like electricity) to locations where it is needed.