Worked example: 2.2MWp PPA Rollout Across 14 Retail Stores
An illustrative 2,200 kWp retail solar PPA: at 11.8 p/kWh over 20 years, the modelled year-1 saving is £280,000.
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 | Retail |
| System size | 2,200 kWp |
| PPA tariff (year 1) | 11.8 p/kWh |
| Contract term | 20 years |
| Year-1 saving (modelled) | £280,000 |
A 14-store retail rollout, as a representative scenario
Treat this as a representative retail rollout rather than a named chain. The subject is a national DIY retailer taking solar across fourteen stores in the south of England, driven by a 2030 net-zero commitment. Two complications shaped the structure from the outset: three high-street locations faced real planning constraints on rooftop panels, and the corporate treasury was adamant the arrangement stay off the balance sheet. A retail estate spread across many landlords and title arrangements rarely lends itself to a uniform rooftop programme, so both factors pointed away from piecemeal, site-by-site ownership and towards a single co-ordinated contract.
One contract across every store
The answer was a 2.2 MWp aggregated PPA delivered as a corporate structure — one agreement covering all fourteen sites rather than fourteen separate deals. Pricing came in at 11.8 p/kWh with a modest 1.5% fixed escalator, and the whole thing qualified for off-balance-sheet treatment under IFRS 16. Consolidating everything into one instrument also cut the legal and administrative load sharply compared with negotiating fourteen standalone agreements. Because a single corporate covenant underwrites the portfolio, the funder's credit view leans on the parent entity — see why the strength of the off-taker drives pricing, and how it feeds the financing structure.
What slowed it down
A multi-site retail estate brings property complications a single factory never faces:
- Three of the fourteen stores needed planning consent, adding roughly six months
- Landlord roof rights on four leased units took careful legal work to resolve
Indicative outcome
The seed figures show first-year savings near £280,000, renewable electricity claimed across the whole estate, and clean off-balance-sheet accounting the treasury could take to investors as a sustainability lever. For a listed or investor-facing business, that accounting outcome can be worth as much as the tariff. A fixed escalator here traded a slightly higher day-one rate for long-run certainty. To see how tariff, escalator and term interact on a rollout of your own, start with how PPA pricing works.
Related to this PPA case study
Could a similar deal work at your site?
A 60-second form gives us enough to match your site to providers and return an indicative tariff comparable to this case study.
Get an indicative PPA tariffCheck what your roof could earn under a PPA
Worked example: 2.2MWp PPA Rollout Across 14 Retail Stores — tell us about your site and we'll return an indicative p/kWh tariff for it. Reply by email within one working day.