Is a Solar PPA On or Off Balance Sheet? (IFRS 16)
Most solar PPAs stay off balance sheet as service contracts, but IFRS 16 can pull them on. What finance directors check before signing in 2026.…
1,283 words · 6 min read
Blog
UK Solar PPA Blog — practical guides for off-takers
35 posts on UK commercial solar PPAs — mechanics, procurement, legal, tax, technical and compliance. Written for procurement, finance and facilities teams comparing PPA against alternatives.
Accounting
Compliance
Meeting MEES 2027 with a Solar PPA
How a solar PPA can lift your EPC rating to B by April 2030 — and the modelling required to prove it to the asset manager.…
237 words · 6 min read
Green Tariff vs Solar PPA: Which Renewable Claim Holds Up?
A REGO-backed green tariff and a solar PPA both let a UK business report renewable power. What each proves, what each costs, and when to use both.…
660 words · 6 min read
Energy Attribute Certificates: REGOs, GoOs and I-RECs
REGOs, Guarantees of Origin and I-RECs are all energy attribute certificates. Which one a UK business can use, what each proves, and where the limits are.…
582 words · 6 min read
Decision frameworks
Are Solar PPAs Worth It for UK Businesses?
A decision framework for UK businesses: when a solar PPA beats buying or grants, judged by capital, lease tenure, covenant and load profile.…
1,297 words · 6 min read
Economics
PPA vs Rooftop Lease: 25-Year Cashflow Compared
Two very different deals: PPA pays you in cheap kWh; rooftop lease pays you in cash. 25-year DCF model for a 500kWp roof.…
152 words · 6 min read
Guides
Solar PPA Pros and Cons for UK Businesses (2026)
A balanced 2026 guide to commercial solar PPA advantages and disadvantages for UK businesses: zero capex and fixed rates vs no ownership and long tie-ins.…
1,287 words · 6 min read
Legal
Change-in-Law Clauses in Solar PPAs
Change-in-law clauses determine who carries the cost when policy changes mid-contract. Anti-dilution, pass-through and force-majeure mechanics explained.…
156 words · 6 min read
Selling Your Business with a PPA in Place
Most PPAs include change-of-control and assignment clauses. What buyers will demand and how to structure the term sheet upfront.…
218 words · 6 min read
Step-in Rights: When the Lender Takes Over Your PPA
Lenders to PPA SPVs reserve step-in rights — meaning the funder can replace the operator if the SPV fails. What this means for off-takers.…
185 words · 6 min read
How to Get Out of a Solar PPA Early (UK)
Leaving a solar PPA early is possible but never free. The four exit routes, what drives the exit price, and the clauses to agree before you sign.…
653 words · 6 min read
Take-or-Pay in a PPA: What It Means and When It Bites
Take-or-pay commits a PPA buyer to a minimum volume, taken or not. How it differs from take-and-pay and pay-as-produced, and what to negotiate.…
480 words · 6 min read
Selling a Building with a Solar PPA in Place
Selling a commercial property with a solar PPA on the roof? How change-of-control, assignment and novation clauses affect the sale, and what buyers demand.…
1,429 words · 6 min read
Market Insight
Biggest Corporate Solar PPA Buyers in the UK
A market overview of the UK's largest corporate solar PPA buyers — Amazon, Tesco, M&S and more — and what their deals signal for mid-market firms.…
1,393 words · 6 min read
Mechanics
N2EX vs EPEX SPOT: Which Reference Price for a UK Virtual PPA?
The one drafting question every widely-read virtual PPA explainer skips because it is written for US or EU markets: which GB day-ahead index should your confirm…
506 words · 6 min read
PPA Escalator Clauses Explained: Fixed, RPI, CPI and How to Negotiate
Every UK solar PPA has an escalator — and getting it wrong costs hundreds of thousands over 25 years. A practical guide for off-takers in 2026.…
305 words · 6 min read
Off-taker Covenant: How Your Credit Rating Affects Your PPA Tariff
Why a £20m revenue business pays a different PPA tariff to a £200m business — and how to negotiate when your covenant is the constraint.…
218 words · 6 min read
Virtual PPA vs On-site PPA: When Each Wins
Virtual (synthetic) PPAs and on-site PPAs solve different problems. Decision framework with example p&l for each.…
147 words · 6 min read
Who Owns the REGOs Under a Solar PPA?
Under a solar PPA the REGOs can stay with the provider, pass to you, or be sold on. Why ownership decides your renewable claim, and the clauses to agree.…
526 words · 6 min read
How Much of Your Electricity Can a Solar PPA Cover?
Self-consumption decides what a solar PPA saves. How to estimate the share of your demand an array can cover, why summer and weekends matter, and how to size it…
583 words · 6 min read
PPA vs CfD: How the UK's Two Price Contracts Differ
A PPA and a government Contract for Difference both fix a price for renewable power. Who signs each, how each settles, and how the two combine.…
571 words · 6 min read
Private Wire vs Sleeved PPA: Which Suits Your Site?
Two ways to buy a nearby solar farm's output: a private wire cable or a sleeved PPA through a supplier. Charges, costs, commitments and when each one wins.…
411 words · 6 min read
How Cardiff's Lamby Way Solar Farm Uses a Private Wire
Cardiff's 9 MW Lamby Way solar farm supplies a neighbour over a 2 km private wire. The 20-year contract, the design, and lessons for nearby businesses.…
386 words · 6 min read
Pricing
A 2% vs CPI-Linked PPA Escalator: The 20-Year Numbers Worked Through
A fixed-rate quote and a CPI-linked quote can carry the same headline year-one price and a six-figure difference by year twenty. Here is the arithmetic, with ev…
388 words · 6 min read
Smart Export Guarantee vs PPA Export Tariff
If your PPA generates more than you can use, where does the surplus go and at what price? SEG and PPA export tariffs compared.…
175 words · 6 min read
What Happens to a PPA Tariff When Energy Prices Fall?
A PPA tariff does not fall when the market does. What that means for your saving, why a delivered grid price is stickier than wholesale, and how to protect a lo…
663 words · 6 min read
Is Free Solar Really Free? What a Zero-Capex PPA Costs
"Free solar" means zero capital, not free electricity. What a zero-capex PPA costs over its term, what you give up, and how to judge the offer.…
550 words · 6 min read
Process
How Long Does a Solar PPA Take to Set Up?
A realistic UK timeline for a commercial solar PPA: 6-12 months from first enquiry to switch-on, broken into stages, plus the steps that cause most delays.…
1,361 words · 6 min read
Procurement
Corporate PPA vs Grant-Funded Solar: Can You Combine Them?
PSDS has had no open window since Phase 4 closed in November 2024. Where that leaves the choice between a zero-capex corporate PPA and grant-funded ownership fo…
449 words · 6 min read
How to RFP a Solar PPA — A Procurement Playbook
Step-by-step RFP guide for businesses going to market for a solar PPA. Brief structure, bidder questions, scoring matrix and red flags.…
257 words · 6 min read
What Does a Sleeving Fee Cover in a UK Sleeved PPA?
The sleeving fee pays a supplier to take a solar farm's output, balance it and deliver it to your meters. What it covers, how it is quoted and what to negotiate…
527 words · 6 min read
Public sector
PSDS Grant vs Solar PPA: Which for Public Sector?
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme funding vs PPA — which route suits NHS, schools, councils and universities better in 2026?…
217 words · 6 min read
Tax
Tax Treatment of Solar PPA Payments
Are PPA payments operating expense, lease accounting under IFRS 16, or capital? HMRC guidance and accounting practice for 2026.…
235 words · 6 min read
Technical
Performance Ratio Guarantees in Solar PPAs
Performance ratio (PR) is the metric that defines whether a PPA system is generating as promised. What good PR guarantees look like in 2026.…
173 words · 6 min read
Adding Battery Storage to a Solar PPA
Battery storage stacks well with PPA — but the contract drafting and revenue stack split are non-trivial. What the typical 2026 structure looks like.…
195 words · 6 min read
Want a topic we haven't covered?
Drop us a note with the question your team is stuck on and we will consider it for a future guide.
Suggest a topicNew to the subject? Start with our guide to solar PPAs in the UK, then come back to the posts below.
Check what your roof could earn under a PPA
UK Solar PPA Blog — practical guides for off-takers — tell us about your site and we'll return an indicative p/kWh tariff for it. Reply by email within one working day.