Specialist PV fund manager Bluefield Partners LLP has signed a strategic agreement worth £20 million with Azur Solar to finance a range of new 50kW and 150kW systems on industrial, commercial and agricultural roofs across the UK.
The systems will be installed for free between now and March, 2012 and consequently are eligible for the Government’s current feed-in tariff (FiT) rate. Azur will operate and manage all of the systems.
These projects are the latest addition to Azur’s ever-growing PV project portfolio, which already includes the UK’s largest self-funded rooftop installation for The Body Shop International in West Sussex.
“We are totally focused on getting the right commercial roofs commissioned before the Government’s next FiT milestone date,” said Robert Markus Feldmann, Azur’s Managing Director. “We already have a solid and growing pipeline of solar projects, so now having independent financing available means that when we identify a suitable site, we can provide the roof owner with a comprehensive 25-year energy contracting solution.
Bluefield is backed by leading UK investors Jon Moulton and William Doughty and the partnership with Azure will comprise a significant portion of their UK solar strategy.
“We are delighted to teaming up with Azur Solar. It already has an enviable track record, a management team with real strength and experience and outstanding products,” James Armstrong, a partner at Bluefield, said. “The management teams share the same high ambition and expect to establish a leading position in the UK solar PV rooftop market over the next few months.”
