On-Bill Financing (OBF) is the best way to get energy efficient technology for your farm or food processing operation.
Energy efficiency (EE) upgrades are a great way for your agricultural business to lower your energy usage, track water usage, and reduce monthly bills. Wexus can help you navigate through your utility’s program to help you make improvements to your pumps and facilities without high capital costs. California calls this program On-Bill Financing (OBF). Download our pdf brochure here.
What is OBF?
OBF provides $0 down payment and 0% interest loans to help agricultural customers pay for EE retrofit projects. Eligible EE upgrades include flow meters, depth sensors, and variable frequency drives (VFD).
Ag business customers may qualify for loans between $5,000 and $100,000 per project. The loan repayment terms are based upon the estimated energy savings of the program and may extend up to 60 months. You pay back the OBF loan directly on your utility energy bill.
Example OBF project cost, savings, and payback.
How Do I Get Started?
First, Wexus works with you and your utility account representative to determine your eligibility. You’ll need an active utility account for 24 previous months, and your account must be in good credit standing with the utility. You can only use OBF loans for non-residential meters, which is perfect for agricultural businesses.
Then, Wexus reviews the specifics of your operations to estimate the savings of your project. If you’re already a Wexus customer with pumps on our Professional level plan, then we should already have all of the information we need for this review. We will need at least one year of billing and usage data for each pump. We also review your pump specific data, including horsepower, flow rate, and well depth. Pump test reports often provide this information.
Next, a Wexus team member arranges a site visit with you to survey your equipment. We finalize your savings, the hardware needed, and capital costs for the project.
How Long Do OBF Projects Take?
We can complete your OBF project in 2-3 months. During the first month, Wexus works with you and your account representative on pre-qualification and site selection. We perform a Quality Assurance review.
In month two, the utility provides you with a contract with the loan terms. Once signed, Wexus works with our preferred network of vendors to install and commission the hardware. We conduct a post-installation review and curtailment demonstration.
In month three, we review the final project with the utility. Once the utility approves the loan, they release the funds, and you start to pay off the loan on your utility bill.
Timeline for a typical OBF project.
Contact the Wexus Ops team at ops@wexusapp.com to get started today. Download our pdf brochure here.