Chris Rose

Solar as a service in education: no budget, no problem

Schools, colleges and academies are under pressure to cut costs, reduce carbon and show action on sustainability. But solar can feel out of reach. There’s the upfront cost, the long payback, the maintenance, the permissions. It’s easier to park the idea than deal with the hassle.

That’s exactly why we offer solar as a service.

You don’t pay for the panels

Through our solar as a service model, there’s no capital outlay. We cover the full cost of design, installation and ongoing maintenance. Your school just pays for the energy used, at a fixed rate lower than standard grid prices. We own and operate the system, you just get the benefit.

It’s set up through a Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA. No leases. No loans. No budget approval cycles. Just cleaner, cheaper electricity from your own roof.

Built for how schools actually work

We know what holds schools back. Budget pressures. Multi-stakeholder sign-off. Complex landlord setups. MAT-wide strategies with inconsistent estate data. We manage the lot. That includes landlord liaison, DNO approvals, and clear reporting for governors, bursars and sustainability leads.

Our platform gives you live data on energy and carbon savings. We build in Scope 2 reporting, SECR support, and full REGO-backed verification.

Real numbers that matter

Zero upfront cost, fully funded under a PPA

Grid electricity cut by 40 to 60 percent during school hours

Energy price fixed for 20 years, no inflation indexing

Savings of 30 percent or more vs existing supply

Rooftop solar can increase property value by 4.5 percent

Fully transferable if the site changes tenants or ownership

Carbon savings tracked in real time

Payback for us after eight years, benefits for you from day one

How it works on the ground

A client through our partners, a secondary school with high daytime usage, reduced their electricity costs almost immediately after installing rooftop solar. There was no capital cost, no disruption to operations, and no need for the estate team to manage the process. Just cleaner energy and lower bills from month one.

Why education is the perfect fit

Schools use most of their electricity during the day, exactly when solar produces best. Most have large roof space, consistent occupancy and a long-term outlook. Public sector frameworks remove the procurement pain. That makes solar an easy win, once the barriers are taken out of the way.

What to do next

You don’t need capital to bring solar to your school. You just need the right setup.

Our partners have helped education estates across the UK cut energy costs, reduce carbon and hit their sustainability targets. If you’re ready to take the next step, we’ll handle the rest.

At Rose Partner Solutions, we don't do guesswork. When clients ask about energy contracts, we show the market data behind every recommendation and explain what it means in plain terms.

This week’s wholesale market trends tell a clear story if you know how to read them.

Gas prices are soft, but that won’t last

Right now, there’s more pressure on gas prices to fall than rise. Two main reasons:

The US is rattling markets with interest rate uncertainty and trade tensions. That tends to cool investor confidence and suppress prices.

The EU is easing storage targets and moving towards shared gas purchasing. That means less country-by-country competition, which usually brings prices down.

But that doesn’t mean the market is safe. Asian buyers are holding back, raising questions about future demand and export capacity in the US. If supply growth stalls, prices could find support again. And if the EU extends long-term targets, demand will stay stronger for longer.

Power prices are being pulled both ways

Electricity markets are still tied to gas, but there’s more going on:

Weak gas pricing is dragging electricity rates down

Policy support for nuclear could push future supply up

Wind and hydro generation is falling off during hotter periods, which is starting to look like a trend

Higher temperatures are creating extra demand from cooling systems and putting pressure on nuclear plants that rely on rivers for water

what this means for our clients

We track all of this so you don’t have to. And we don’t just summarise the market. We translate it into actions.

Sometimes that means locking in early. Sometimes it means holding your nerve. Either way, the advice we give is always tied to real numbers, tailored to your situation, and built around your risk profile.

what we believe

Energy markets are messy, but your decisions shouldn’t be. We keep things simple, strategic and clear. Every recommendation we make is backed by data and designed to help you stay ahead of risk, cost and carbon.

That’s how we help businesses make decisions they can stand by.

Biomethane, is it just a load of crap?

Well... yes!

Biomethane is literally made from organic waste. Food scraps, crop residues, animal muck, sewage sludge. Stuff nobody wants, turned into something valuable. It’s processed through anaerobic digestion, upgraded into a clean-burning gas, and injected straight into the UK’s gas grid.

It’s renewable, reliable and already helping businesses lower their emissions without changing how they operate.

what makes it different from fossil gas?

Fossil gas comes from drilling. Biomethane comes from waste. That means when you burn biomethane, the carbon released was already part of the natural cycle. It’s not adding new emissions, it’s just reusing what was already out there.

Switching to biomethane means cutting Scope 1 emissions without replacing your entire heating system. No need to rip out boilers or rebuild pipework. It’s a straight swap, tracked and certified.

why it’s catching on?

Fully interchangeable with natural gas in commercial systems

Comes with Green Gas Certificates to prove your carbon savings

Can be used for heating, cooking or industrial processes

Reduces reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets

Helps meet Net Zero, ESG and SECR targets without infrastructure change

how businesses are using it?

A client through our partners in the hospitality sector switched to a 100 percent biomethane-backed supply. Same setup, same performance, but now their energy use aligns with their sustainability goals. It also helped them win a major corporate contract that required verified carbon reduction.

you don’t need to go off-grid to go green

You can still be connected to the mains gas network and choose biomethane. You’ll get a regular supply from your existing infrastructure, backed by a certificate trail showing your share of green gas injected into the grid.

No disruption. No system change. Just lower emissions and a tick in every ESG box that matters.

so is it just a load of crap?

Yes. And that’s the point. It’s turning waste into clean energy that works for real businesses, right now.

If you want to show progress on your sustainability targets without tearing up your heating system, we can help you switch to biomethane supply and back it up with full reporting.