Cambridge-Australia alliance to accelerate commercial solar and battery deployment in UK
There are no strings to this Orkestra movement as it warms up to do business with Midsummer, which will by no means play second fiddle. It already works with some of the world's leading green-tech manufacturers to facilitate the energy transition.
The collaboration is designed to enable solar installers and project developers to confidently design, price, and sell C&I energy systems by combining Orkestra’s intelligent, data-rich financial modelling, sizing tools and feasibility reports, with Midsummer’s Easy PV utility-scale project proposals.
The collaboration brings together Midsummer’s robust commercial expertise, its extensive product range of solar PV, battery storage, and EV charging technologies, and Orkestra’s cutting-edge modelling tools. The result is a streamlined digital experience that allows users to assess project performance and returns in real time, helping to unlock greater adoption of commercial-scale solar and storage installations.
Traditionally, commercial solar sales have leaned heavily on relatively simple rules-of-thumb for sizing and metrics of payback period, system cost, and annual savings to size and value systems. But as the energy landscape has become more complex, such as with the incorporation of batteries into projects, accurate modelling of project cashflows and financial metrics has become a critical requirement to appropriately sizing C&I projects.
This has led to the development of feasibility modelling platforms like Orkestra, which bring a new level of clarity and confidence to the commercial project lifecycle. These tools simulate the financial performance of a system across a variety of use cases, integrating variables.
Time-of-use tariffs and future energy price trajectories, battery charging/discharging schedules, system degradation and maintenance, capital expenditure, financing options, and tax implications have become the catalyst on which project decisions are founded.
Gus Pitfield, Head of Commercial Solar at Midsummer, said: "We’re incredibly excited to be working with Orkestra. Commercial energy projects can be complex to sell and scope. This partnership brings clarity and confidence to every stakeholder. By combining Orkestra’s powerful feasibility modelling with Easy PV’s utility-scale design capabilities, we’re making it easier for installers to bring high-value projects to fruition."
James Allston, Co-CEO & Head of Growth, Europe, at Orkestra, added: "At Orkestra, our mission is to accelerate the clean energy transition by simplifying complexity. Orkestra enables feasibility-first selling whereby solar installers can quickly and easily value projects, size systems, and optimise project outcomes for their customers.
"This means that planners can make the business case for clean energy truly compelling and save engineering time when moving to the design phase with Easy PV. We’re proud to be partnering with Midsummer to help scale the impact of C&I solar and storage across the UK."
The partnership represents a major step forward in simplifying and professionalising the way renewable energy solutions are proposed, evaluated and deployed, paving the way for greater uptake of sustainable technologies in commercial settings.