How Lumify Energy Came to Be: Our Brand Story

It’s been seven years since we first launched as Accounting for Energy, and it’s been an incredible journey. In the spirit of our rebrand, we thought we’d look back at how we got to where we are now.

Birth of the Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is, in essence, harnessing the earth’s elements to generate power. It’s been going on for millennia. After all, ancient civilisations used wind-powered wheels to grind corn and water wheels to mill wheat.

But when we talk about renewable energy as we know it today, we’re referring to our collective efforts to reverse the destructive effects that the heavy use of fossil fuels has had on our planet.

Renewable Energy Today

As rising eco-concerns became more prevalent, governments around the world began to look at how their policies could support a sustainable future. Around 20 years ago, the UK government began offering site operators subsidies as incentives to build renewable energy projects. This included wind farms, hydroelectric and landfill gas extraction.

As a result, record numbers of these incentives were commissioned by various landowners. From farmers to local authorities, large corporations and waste management companies, they all offered a portion of their land to the projects in exchange for royalty payments.

In return, site operators provided equipment, managed the site and sold the renewable energy produced on the land to consumers by way of traditional energy suppliers. And thanks to these efforts, the UK’s carbon footprint began to decrease.

Landowners’ Brick Wall

Fast forward to today, where we start to see a rise in issues stemming from lease agreements between landowners and their site operators. These issues are largely due to original lease agreements being rarely – if ever – reviewed, despite energy payments changing dramatically over the last 20 years.

Why haven’t landowners reviewed their original contracts? The reality is, the renewable energy sector is like uncharted waters. Unlike more established industries such as oil, there are no official guidelines for managing payments or monitoring a site’s performance.

Where We Come In

We set up Lumify Energy (formerly Accounting for Energy) in 2014, to help individual and corporate landowners navigate the complexities of long-term lease agreements. We also wanted to ensure that landowners were properly compensated for the renewable energy produced on their land.

We provide professional advice, management, auditing, monitoring, and cutting-edge technology-based services and solutions. Simplifying the renewable energy sector and making the industry a more transparent place to operate is at the heart of what we do.

How It All Started

In 2006, our co-founder Travis Benn began his career as a chartered accountant for a top accounting firm. Already interested in the energy sector, he jumped at the chance to work for the UK’s largest renewable energy company when the opportunity arose.

During this time, he worked in partnership with landowners who produce renewable energy on their land. Travis began to research how well they understood industry jargon and how often they reviewed their royalty payments.

It quickly became clear that, because the renewable energy industry was in its infancy, there was little information available to landowners. There was also next to no guidance that was accessible or comprehendible enough for landowners to be equipped with what they needed to know about their projects.

With changes happening at such a rapid pace, it’s difficult for those who aren’t constantly dealing with energy legislation and economic shifts in the sector to understand – let alone keep up.

An Industry in Need of Transparency

But it’s not just that the industry was proving difficult for landowners to keep up with. Travis noticed that these long-term lease agreements had not kept pace with the ever-changing market of fluctuating energy prices and changing subsidy payments either.

So how can landowners assess the quality of lease agreements without visibility in the marketplace, industry benchmarking or up-to-date contracts? A field with little transparency makes it nearly impossible for landowners to monitor their site’s performance. With a transparent approach, we could assess their payments and widen the knowledge gap between landowners and big corporations.

Two Minds, Many Talents, One Purpose

Travis began to share his findings about the problems in the renewable energy marketplace with his wife, Freccia. Keen to find out more, Freccia dug into renewables research to see how landowners could benefit from their knowledge.

She was convinced about the knowledge she and Travis could impart and the services they could offer to make a difference. So, the two of them set out to build something to challenge the renewables status quo.

The Road to Today

Since the launch of Accounting for Energy, we have serviced an impressive roster of clients throughout the UK. This includes some of the country’s biggest councils, family-run businesses, utility companies, waste management corporations and individual landowners.

Our initial offering provided land rent audits for landowners. But over the years, our team of experts and our knowledge have expanded. After several years of growth, we really came into our own, helping landowners throughout their renewable energy journey. We joined them from the start of their project, all the way to negotiating terms for a brand-new renewable energy project on their land. And what a ride it’s been.

Outgrowing the Accounting for Energy Brand

In 2020, we carried out a series of in-depth conversations with our previous and current clients to try to understand their unique needs and challenges and how we could serve them better.

We learned that they value learning the ins and outs of their projects and having the confidence to make informed decisions. But we realised that our Accounting for Energy brand didn’t fully reflect our offerings and the positive impact we were having on our clients.

From Accounting for Energy to Lumify Energy

We decided to make a few changes to better reflect what we do and highlight all the needs we cater to.

Lumify Energy was born from the desire to communicate our wish to illuminate all areas of renewable energy.

Whether that’s through:

• Taking a microscopic look at contract details
• Shining a light on payment discrepancies

OR

• Lighting the way for a brighter, more transparent energy future

We’re aiming to demystify everything that goes into a renewable energy project in the UK.

A fresh visual identity

To represent our mission to light the way in renewable energy, our new colours are bright, uplifting and striking. Our bold palette speaks to our visibility in the industry. But is also a nod to our work that provides our clients with confidence and clarity around their projects.

Our Revived Services

Accounting for Energy began with a single product. But it eventually evolved to helping clients throughout the lifecycle of their renewable energy project.

Our Lumigraph™ tool lets us push transparency like never before and implement a more uniform, impartial way of doing things.

Delve into our research findings blog, or meet the co-founders behind Lumify Energy, Travis and Freccia.