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Retail
2.2MWp PPA Rollout Across 14 Retail Stores
A 2,200 kWp solar PPA at 11.8 p/kWh over 20 years delivers a year-1 saving of £280,000 for this retail client.
Anonymisation note
This is an anonymised composite based on three or more comparable UK PPA deals signed 2024-2026. Numbers are accurate to ±10% of real deals; site location and operator details are fictionalised.
| Deal summary | |
|---|---|
| Sector | Retail |
| System size | 2,200 kWp |
| PPA tariff (year 1) | 11.8 p/kWh |
| Contract term | 20 years |
| Year-1 saving | £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.
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