What Should Be Included in a Factory Solar Proposal?

Project and account details

The first job of the proposal is to identify exactly which installation the business is approving. Premises, electricity account and customer entity need to be unambiguous, especially where the owner, tenant and system owner differ. That prevents equipment, savings or responsibilities being attributed to the wrong account or party later in the document.

Summarise panel-array capacity, inverter capacity, expected annual generation and the commercial model. Label estimated savings and conditional benefits clearly.

The summary helps a decision-maker understand the project quickly, but it must agree with the detailed pages. A template containing different system sizes or costs in different sections is not ready for approval. Ask for a consistent final version before using the figures in an internal investment paper.

Records used to select the system size

The recommended size is only as credible as the electricity demand it is intended to serve. Listing the records, shift schedule and planned changes shows why that capacity was selected and where estimates remain. It also lets operations check whether the financial forecast assumes demand the factory actually has.

The proposal should explain how the capacity connects to the operation. A monthly bill band alone is not a sufficient explanation for a substantial investment.

Ask for a layout and a description of the proposed system. Identify which design decisions are final, what remains to be checked and what your team must approve. If further assessment could change the equipment or cost, the proposal should explain how that change will be agreed.

Named equipment and quantities

Named equipment makes it possible to check whether the price and generation forecast refer to the same system. Panel and inverter models, quantities and ratings should therefore be listed alongside separate DC and AC capacities. A generic brand description leaves more uncertainty about what will be delivered and how later substitutions would be assessed.

If alternatives are offered, show what changes between them. A more expensive option should have an understandable benefit, whether in output, compatibility, monitoring or another project requirement.

Ask how substitutions are approved if equipment availability changes. A similar headline rating does not automatically mean identical performance or warranty conditions. The selected equipment should also align with the generation model and the warranties described elsewhere in the proposal.

Generation and bill assumptions

The savings estimate depends on both electricity generated and what happens to it. Monthly or annual output should be supported by stated assumptions, with direct consumption separated from surplus. This lets finance check whether the value assigned to generation follows the factory’s use and programme conditions rather than an assumed saving on every unit.

Name the programme and explain how export credits are calculated. Check which bill charges solar is expected to reduce. Do not assume every generated unit reduces the whole bill at the same rate; the calculation should distinguish direct use and surplus.

If a simplified financial estimate is used, identify its limits. For investment approval, management should be able to see how generation becomes expected bill benefit and which parts remain sensitive to operation, tariff changes or programme conditions.

Included work and exclusions

The scope explains what the quoted price buys beyond equipment. Applications, studies, design, installation, testing, metering coordination and handover can all carry work and cost. Assigning each task prevents the customer and provider from discovering after approval that both expected the other to arrange it.

Verdant Solar’s commercial proposal lists authority management, project management and equipment separately. Check the work included under each heading and ask about any item your business must arrange itself.

Mark exclusions and customer-supplied items clearly. A brief label such as standard installation should be explained well enough to understand the price. If an item depends on further assessment, state how it will be confirmed and how any commercial change will be approved.

The complete financial model

A decision-ready financial model follows the arrangement the business is actually being offered. Ownership requires the investment, payment dates and operating costs to be shown; third-party supply requires the charges, term and customer obligations. Using the correct model lets management assess the cash it commits and the benefit it expects to retain.

Potential tax benefits should be separately identified and supported by appropriate eligibility review. Avoid mixing a tax-dependent return with a before-tax headline without explanation.

If production could change, ask for another calculation using fewer shifts, quieter weekends or a delayed expansion. Compare the resulting savings with the expected cost so management can see whether the project still meets its investment requirements.

Schedule and responsibilities

A schedule is useful when it explains what must happen for a date to be achieved. Customer documents, approval stages, equipment procurement and factory work windows can each affect the next task. Showing those dependencies helps the business plan its own decisions rather than treat the completion date as independent of its actions.

The schedule should identify dates that depend on authority approval, equipment supply or customer access. Ask which dates are estimates and what must happen before they can be confirmed.

Name the customer and provider contacts for progress, changes and site work. Each outstanding decision should have an owner and due date. If it could delay the project, state which milestone would be affected.

Warranties, maintenance and monitoring

Aftercare commitments influence both risk and future cost, so they need more detail than a warranty period in years. Equipment cover, any output commitment and workmanship warranty should identify the party responsible and how support is requested. Labour, transport and access costs also need checking because they are not necessarily included simply because the equipment remains under warranty.

Describe the maintenance included, how long it continues and what is chargeable later. Include monitoring access, connectivity responsibilities, reporting and support contacts.

Verdant Solar’s commercial materials discuss preventive maintenance, corrective support and monitoring. The particular proposal should identify which services are contracted. A general service description is not proof that every activity or response time is included in every project price.

Handover and future changes

The proposal should also explain how your team will take over day-to-day responsibility once installation is complete. Equipment records, approvals, test information and monitoring access allow facilities staff to understand and manage what was supplied. Including them in the handover scope makes them deliverables the business expects to receive, rather than documents to request after the project team has left.

It should also explain how changes to capacity, equipment or scope affect the price and projected result. Keep revisions together so finance and operations do not approve different versions of the project.

Keep a final approval version

Before issuing a purchase order or signing the agreement, confirm that the summary, equipment list, financial model and payment schedule describe the same project. Check that written clarifications have been incorporated or clearly attached.

After a revision, check that the system size, equipment, generation forecast, price and payment schedule have all been updated. Mark the version approved for purchase and send it to finance, facilities, procurement and the provider. Retain earlier versions as history, not as competing instructions for the same project.