Suntrix unveils new PPA-backed solar offering to commercial property owners

A new PPA-backed solar offering to commercial landlords has been launched, designed to increase uptake amid rising power costs and growing ESG demands.

Rising power costs and ESG considerations are driving renewed interest in solar installations, according to local company Suntrix, which has launched a new product designed to boost uptake among commercial property owners.

The new offering uses a power purchase agreement (PPA) to finance the installation of a solar system on a commercial property, with the savings shared between both the tenant and landlord.

Suntrix founder and managing director Jenny Paradiso said it was designed to provide a financial incentive to landlords who may have previously considered adding solar to their properties but struggled to make the numbers stack up.

Suntrix founder and managing director Jenny Paradiso. Picture: Matt Turner.

“We talk to a lot of companies who are renting and they want to get solar because their electricity bills are so high and/or they have an ESG focus, or they’re looking at going net zero and solar and battery are one of the easiest ways to start that net zero journey,” she said.

“It’s sometimes difficult for landlords to justify adding solar to their properties at a cost to themselves, when it’s their tenant who gets the benefit. Under this offer, both the owner and the tenant are winners.’’

Suntrix’s new offering involves the property owner signing up to a PPA, with the discounted solar power generated from the system passed on to the tenant.

The PPA provider is responsible for installing, maintaining and insuring the equipment during the term of the agreement, which typically extends over 10-15 years, and pays the property owner a regular “roof rental” payment.

“The landlord gets a payment at the end of every month or at the end of the year, and we do that to split the savings of that solar generation,” Ms Paradiso said.

“So instead of the tenant getting 100 per cent, the landlord gets a bit of that and then the tenant gets the rest of it.

“And at the end of the PPA period the property owner takes ownership of the solar system with no balloon payment, nothing extra to pay.’’