OnGen

Edinburgh based OnGen was founded in 2016 with the aim to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions through unlocking onsite renewable energy potential across UK sites. Their mission is to reduce organisations’ energy costs, provide greater security of supply, and help reduce their carbon footprint. They do this by using the OnGen Expert™ renewable energy feasibility tool, which they developed in-house.

The award-winning OnGen software is licensed to customers, including large energy consultancies, third party intermediaries and public sector entities. It uses energy consumption, tariff and geophysical data to recommend an optimal renewable technology system size which meets energy demands, while also maximising carbon reduction and return on investment.

The OnGen tool has been commissioned by the UK Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for use by local authorities to help meet net zero targets and tackle the climate emergency. The OnGen platform helps local authorities identify renewable energy generating projects in an impartial and cost and time effective manner across their large site portfolios. A pilot project with North East Yorkshire and Humber Energy Hub has used the platform to assess the energy generating potential of approximately 80 sites across six different local authorities. The outputs have provided the local authorities with business cases for consideration by their financial officers, along with details about system sizes and technology specifications for use by installers and manufacturers. The potential carbon savings are clear; one local authority is predicted to save 17,000 tonnes of carbon over 20 years across 10 sites. Three local authorities had successful bids to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme following working with OnGen, acquiring over £3 million between them to deploy low-carbon technologies. Following the success of the pilot project, OnGen is beginning work with the Greater South East and the Midlands Energy Hubs.

The OnGen platform is fully online so work has been on-going throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In person site surveys have not been required and local authorities are able to prioritise renewable generation projects for installation as the pandemic subsides, facilitating a green recovery by ensuring the most beneficial projects are fast-tracked.

OnGen has also worked with local organisations in Edinburgh, including Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh University, to help them meet their net zero goals. The OnGen platform has helped Edinburgh University identify projects that will deliver overall carbon savings of 4,000 tonnes whilst providing students with work experience and insight to the renewables sector.

The OnGen team has shifted effectively to home working and staff members have also reflected on ways they can live in a more sustainable way outside the office, for example by increasing use of active transport, switching to renewable energy suppliers, and, in one case, installing solar panels on their home.

OnGen is also keenly aware of the additional social threats highlighted during the pandemic, including racial injustice and unemployment. They believe that environmental justice cannot be met without social justice and their team have been discussing how to make a difference within their organisation and sector, with a focus on widening participation for disadvantaged groups. All their hiring managers will be undertaking unconscious bias training and a mentoring programme is planned. Some of their employees have also been donating their wages to bail out funds and community organisations aimed at tackling racial injustice.