Assisting Stockton Riverside College with managing their energy consumption by utilising a cash-positive finance solution

SAF successfully supported the procurement of a Biomass Boiler installation for Stockton Riverside College with a project value of £224,000.

SAF worked in close partnership with Schneider Electric to develop a 7-year cash-positive finance solution that allowed Stockton Riverside College to procure the Biomass boiler without any upfront capital.

Client Brief:

Stockton Riverside College (SRC) is one of the largest 6th-form campuses in the Northeast of England, providing vocational education and training to around 13,500 full and part-time students alongside their 700 staff.

SRC previously had an outdated biomass boiler which meant they were over-reliant on backup boilers that were not suited for a site of their size. They wanted to manage their energy consumption more efficiently and have greater control over their overhead costs.

There was no capital available due to it being invested in core areas of the business however they knew that a more sustainable boiler system was needed.

SAF’s Solution:

SAF’s bespoke finance package provided an alternative procurement route for SRC to invest in a new biomass boiler, allowing them to make significant upgrades to their boiler system. Due to the lack of upfront capital available for this project SRC required an alternative procurement route.

SAF worked with both Schneider Electric and SRC to produce a unique solution that took into consideration the outputs of the new boiler and potential monthly savings, presenting a cash-positive solution for SRC. Utilising a bespoke cash-positive finance solution ensured the costs for the project were exceeded by the savings the boiler generated. This allowed SRC to replace ageing boilers, ensuring the facility’s heating was more efficient and reducing its carbon footprint by utilising a renewable energy source.

SRC could also benefit from the renewable heat incentive scheme their previous boiler had never been registered for. The UK Government scheme aims to encourage the uptake of renewable heat technologies amongst householders, communities, and businesses through financial incentives, and increase heating coming from renewable sources. The incentive consisted of payments being made for 7 years based on the amount of renewable heat produced by the heating system.

Outcome:

SAF supported SRC in developing a finance agreement that took into consideration their financial challenges, allowing them to access the equipment they needed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Due to strict financial rules and regulations, we worked closely with the SRC’s Finance team to ensure a fully compliant solution was structured and presented to the Board of Governors.

Our proactive communication with SRC and Schneider ensured that they both attained their desired resolution. SRC gained a new biomass boiler that would sufficiently heat the entire facility, reducing energy consumption and costs while generating an additional support stream utilising the renewable heat incentive scheme. Schneider was also able to secure a sale that would not have been possible without the offering of a flexible finance solution.

Phil Dring, Head of Sales at SAF Solutions said:

“It’s fantastic to see companies like SRC take advantage of the UK Government’s incentives to improve their facilities while simultaneously making inroads towards net-zero targets.

Utilising our in-depth industry knowledge, we adhered to strict financial rules and regulations while generating a cash-positive solution for SRC when capital for the purchase wasn’t available. This cash-positive solution was able to generate an additional revenue stream which they can be used in other areas of the business.”