How a wind farm site review prompted income injection, lower energy bills and new revenue streams for Dewlay Cheesemakers, part 1

Dewlay Cheesemakers is a leading green example in the dairy industry. The company has seen significant positive results following our SiteView360 review. This family business prides itself on a 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 from a renewables perspective. But with sustainability at the heart of all they do, Dewlay invested decided on having a turbine to help mitigate some of these issues.

Before meeting us, Dewlay had worked with their turbine operator for a long time and were happy with the service they’d received. But with tariffs constantly changing and so many complicated factors to consider, it’s difficult for even the most informed renewable energy landowner to continuously stay up-to-date. That’s why they decided to have a SiteView360 review with us. That’s where we could help.

A brief background

What is a review?

A review is a complete historical look at the performance of a renewable energy project. With little insight from a landowner’s perspective, Dewlay decided to have a review to ensure that all payments were accurate and up-to-date and in line with new laws, subsidies and fluctuating energy prices. A review should also look at how well a site has been running and its environmental impact compared to others across the UK. Following this, any anomalies can be put straight.

The importance of having a review – Statute of limitation

It’s important to review all financial aspects of a project regularly and diligently, as there is a limited period during which third parties are legally obliged to correct any issues brought to their attention. This time limit may start from the earliest date on which you could have discovered it with reasonable diligence.

What is involved in a review?

1. The terms of the wind farm lease should be thoroughly checked. Knowing the fine details of the lease means being fully aware of all benefits that can be generated and how market changes can generate increased returns from the wind farm.
2. The monthly financial and operational performance of the wind farm project for the lifetime of the project should be independently calculated. All benefits that should have been generated by the project to ensure that it was achieving its full potential.
3. If any anomalies are identified, they should be presented to the landowners site operator to rectify and ensure that all returns from the wind farm are paid to the landowner.

Reviews don’t need to rock boats

Companies in the energy sector are often cautious about how their relationship with their wind turbine operator will be affected by new partnerships and energy-related projects. 

We suggest the continuation of a respectful relationship, protecting landowner concerns and relationships—just like we did with Dewlay. Keeping the lines of communication open is vital, as is ongoing sensitivity to the needs of all parties. Prior Lumify clients have gone on to renew their lease with their existing site operator after working with us or intend to do so when their current contract expires: a win-win for both parties.

Nor do they need to eat into your time

Another concern that landowners have is whether reviews will take up too much of their working day. 

The opposite is true. For Dewlay, business continued as usual while we worked in the background performing all the technical analysis required. We presented clear findings and worked alongside their site operator to implement our findings with minimal input required.

See part 2 where we speak with Nick Kenyon CEO of Dewlay about the outcome of our review.