Solar PPA for aerospace & precision engineering

2026 indicative PPA profile

Typical system size	300-800kWp
Year-1 tariff	11-14 p/kWh
Year-1 saving	£50k-£140k
Parent sector	Factories & Manufacturing

High daytime demand on a constrained roof

Aerospace and precision engineering pairs a very favourable demand shape with a slightly awkward roof. Temperature-controlled machine shops, multi-axis CNC banks, metrology labs and compressed-air plant draw hard through the working day and taper off out of hours — close to a textbook match for solar output. The complication is overhead: these buildings frequently carry roof-lights, extraction ducting, plant screening or clear-span limits that cut into the usable panel area, so the array has to be designed around the structure rather than simply rolled out across it.

Why the economics still hold up

Even with a smaller usable footprint, the build-out economics stay strong because the electricity generated is consumed almost entirely on site at full daytime value, with next to nothing exported. A power purchase agreement suits that neatly — the developer absorbs both the design complexity and the capital, while the manufacturer pays only for metered generation. Systems typically land at 300 to 800 kWp, tariffs at 11 to 14 p/kWh, and annual savings between £50,000 and £140,000.

Points to raise with a developer early

• Commission a roof and structural survey first — usable area, not gross footprint, sets the size you can actually achieve
• Controlled-environment tolerances mean installation phasing must protect shop-floor conditions throughout
• Defence and export-controlled sites may need security clearance built into the access plan

With the survey in hand, model the saving for your usable area, then look at a PPA versus buying the system outright — with self-consumption this high the choice is genuinely close, and the factory overview covers the wider trade-offs.