Worked example: 1.5MWp PPA for an NHS Foundation Trust
An illustrative 1,500 kWp hospitals solar PPA: at 11.0 p/kWh over 25 years, the modelled year-1 saving is £195,000.
Illustrative example — not a real deal
This is a hypothetical worked example, written to show how a solar PPA's numbers work for this kind of site. The site, the operator and every figure are illustrative: the tariff and term sit inside this site's indicative bands and the saving is modelled from them. It does not describe any real organisation, and no contract is claimed.
| Worked example — modelled figures | |
|---|---|
| Sector | Hospitals |
| System size | 1,500 kWp |
| PPA tariff (year 1) | 11.0 p/kWh |
| Contract term | 25 years |
| Year-1 saving (modelled) | £195,000 |
A public-sector example: an NHS Foundation Trust
The following is an illustrative, anonymised scenario from the acute healthcare estate — a Foundation Trust operating a 320-bed hospital alongside several linked community sites, importing about 6.8 GWh of electricity a year in total. The driver here was mandate rather than margin: the Greener NHS programme's net-zero target for direct emissions by 2040, with the added squeeze that the relevant PSDS grant round had already closed for the financial year and the capital programme was under tight departmental review.
Why a PPA beat waiting for grant money
With grant funding off the table for that cycle and no headroom to buy the system outright, a PPA let the Trust act immediately and keep the cost in revenue rather than capital. That distinction matters in a public body where capital is rationed harder than day-to-day spend. The trade-offs between grant-funded ownership and a PPA are set out in the funding routes comparison, and the mechanics of paying for it are covered under PPA financing.
A split system across the estate
Rather than concentrate everything on one roof, the 1.5 MWp was divided — roughly 900 kWp on the acute hospital and 600 kWp spread across the community sites — under a 25-year agreement at 11 p/kWh. Procurement followed Crown-compliant rules under PCR 2015, which lengthens the process but is non-negotiable for public bodies. An investment-grade public covenant is exactly the profile funders prefer, as the covenant page explains.
Indicative outcomes and the delays
In its first year the arrangement saved an estimated £195,000 and cut Scope 2 emissions by around 600 tonnes of CO2e, meeting a Greener Plan delivery milestone. The hold-ups were institutional rather than technical: PFI partner consent on two buildings added roughly four months, and infection-control coordination for roof access pushed one building back by six weeks. On a hospital estate, access and consent — not the panels — set the pace.
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