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.
If your site sits near a solar farm, or one could be built nearby, there are two ways to buy its output. You can run a cable from the farm to your site, a private wire, or you can buy the farm's output through a licensed supplier that delivers it over the public network, a sleeved PPA. They reach the same electrons by very different routes, and the right one depends mostly on distance and scale.
How each one works
A private wire is a dedicated cable from the generator to your site. The power never touches the public network, so the units avoid network charges, levies and supplier costs, and you and the generator share that saving through the PPA price. A sleeved PPA leaves the power on the public network: the generator sells to a supplier, which delivers the same volume to your meters for a sleeving fee. Nothing needs to be built, but every unit carries the full stack of network and policy charges.
Side by side
| Private wire | Sleeved PPA | |
|---|---|---|
| Distance to the generator | Typically within a few miles | Anywhere in Great Britain |
| Infrastructure | A cable, route agreements and planning consent | None; uses the existing network |
| Network and policy charges on the units | Avoided, and the saving is shared | Paid in full |
| Supplier involvement | Not for the private-wire units; often relies on a licence exemption | A licensed supplier delivers and balances the power |
| Typical commitment | 15 years or more, to recover the cable cost | This site's indicative band is 10–15 years |
| Main risks | Construction, the route, counterparty failure, cable damage | Supplier terms, balancing costs, the sleeving fee |
Private wire facts: Welsh Government — Private wire energy systems: guidance (29 June 2026). Sleeved band: this site's indicative advisory range. Verified 28 Sep 2026.
When each one wins
- A private wire wins when the generator is close, the cable route is straightforward, your demand is large and steady, and both sides can commit for 15 years or more. The avoided charges are what pay for the cable.
- A sleeved PPA wins when the generator is far away, when several of your sites need supplying, or when nobody wants to fund and maintain a cable.
- Neither may be needed if your own roof can host an array. An on-site PPA avoids network charges without any cable at all.
For a working example of the private wire route, see how Cardiff's Lamby Way solar farm supplies a neighbouring business.
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