Solar PPA for arable & mixed farms

2026 indicative PPA profile

Typical system size	200kWp-2MWp
Year-1 tariff	11-14 p/kWh (lower for ground-mount)
Year-1 saving	£25k-£280k
Parent sector	Farms & Agriculture

A demand curve shaped by the harvest

An arable holding is very nearly the mirror image of a dairy. For most of the year the electrical load is modest — a workshop, a few grain-store fans, the farmhouse and yard lighting — but for a handful of intense weeks after harvest the grain dryer becomes the single largest consumer on the whole farm. Crucially, that peak lands in late summer, when a solar array is still generating strongly, so the biggest demand of the year coincides with abundant free daytime power. On mixed units a livestock enterprise adds a steadier baseload beneath that seasonal spike.

When export becomes part of the deal

Because the arable base load is low, a good share of the year's generation will exceed what the farm itself can absorb, so these agreements lean towards export rather than pure self-consumption. That reshapes the PPA maths. Sizing can run large — anywhere from 200 kWp up to 2 MWp — and part of the value now comes from the price paid for units sold to the grid alongside the units you keep behind the meter. Marginal ground, headlands or awkward field corners can carry a ground-mounted array, which generally prices lower per unit than a roof-mounted system.

Why the bigger systems still stack up

A larger, export-tilted array widens the annual return — £25k–£280k is realistic across that size range — but it also makes contract structure matter more, because export terms, grid-connection limits and land use all come into play. Model the harvest-season self-consumption against year-round export in our solar savings calculator, then read our comparison of a PPA against outright ownership for an export-heavy site. The agricultural hub sets arable beside the livestock profiles.