NCBA, through its subsidiary, NCBA Leasing LLP, has launched two leasing solutions to enable businesses adopt renewable energy, reduce their carbon footprint, and lower energy costs.

Through the Solar PV and Executive leasing solutions, NCBA Leasing is offering customers longer leasing periods of 7 to 10 years, compared to 3 to 5-year terms competitors offer.

According to NCBA, the extended leasing period will allow the bank to lower rental rates to its customers hence offering them more affordable solutions to meet their energy needs.

Lennox Mugambi, NCBA Group Director, Asset Finance and Business Solutions, noted the lease-to-own model accords businesses a more affordable way to adopt renewable energy.

“Longer lease periods, coupled with flexibility in payment options, ensure that clients can seamlessly transition to solar energy while realizing immediate savings,” said Mugambi.

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NCBA, which unveiled its sustainability commitment “Change the Story” in 2023, seeks to empower its customers who run businesses to transition to sustainable energy sources.

The bank noted that by reducing reliance on traditional energy sources, businesses will cut their energy costs and, in the process, have better control on their electricity expenses.

“The adoption of solar energy in progressive markets has demonstrated the profound effect it can have on both business sustainability and financial performance,” noted Mugambi.

He added: “With energy cost savings of up to 40 per cent in the short term and increased value over the useful life of the system, solar has proven to be a game-changer for businesses looking to optimise their bottom line.”

Businesses embracing Solar PV solution will also escape incremental costs, as the lease function is an operational expense (OPEX) and directly replaces a part of the existing energy bills.

The leasing structure will enable businesses to lower monthly energy costs minus upfront capital investments and align to global sustainability goals while remaining financially stable.

On-Grid PV Solution

A solar on-grid system harnesses light energy during the day and converts it to electric energy with the generated energy used directly and not stored.

However, net-metering makes it possible to send the generated energy to the grid for use at night, but with some stringent terms.

Whenever there is loss of grid, the system will also go off for safety and overload protection.

Leasing Pros

The NCBA Leasing model offers clients 100 per cent funding of the entire solution, expertise, flexible tenure of 3 to 10 years, which works well for the balance sheet and tax efficiencies.

The solution also offers lower levelized cost of energy (LCOE), no capital outlay, predictable energy costs and flexible repayment periods as well as guaranteed lower rental payments.

Lease rental is an Operating Expense item meaning the solar rentals can be paid from operations budget hence dodging CAPEX constraints and no covenants are required.

Post-Installation Support

The installations and support by NCBA’s leasing partner, EPC, meet global standards and the customer is assured of warranty support and the replacement of failed hardware and parts.

It also offers remote monitoring of performance and reporting of projected vs actual system performance, preventative maintenance and system utilization sizing on optimization.

The leasing agreement guarantees businesses reliable power supply and offers the option of storage batteries.

Remote monitoring brings information on the performance of the system, how much CO2 has been saved, and how much money you have saved to your desktop or mobile devices.