Commercial solar PPAs in Wales: what changes from England
Wales sits inside the Great Britain electricity market, so a Welsh solar PPA is the same contract as an English one. The differences that matter sit around it: who runs your connection, Welsh Government guidance on private wire, Welsh rating law, and a grant landscape that is mostly closed.
Quick answer: solar PPAs in Wales
A commercial solar PPA works the same legal way in Wales as in England: a funder owns the array and you buy its output per kWh. What changes is the detail. NGED or SP Manweb runs your connection, SEG export rules apply, Welsh Government guidance covers private wire, and the Ynni Cymru grant round closed on 21 May 2026.
Not sure a PPA fits your site? Run the two-minute suitability check or send your site details for an indicative p/kWh range.
Who runs your connection: NGED or SP Manweb
Wales is split between two distribution network operators, and the one that serves your postcode is the first question a PPA provider's connection study answers.
| Area | Network operator | What its own data says |
|---|---|---|
| South Wales | National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) | About 1.2 million customers over 11,800 km², from Pembrokeshire to Monmouth and north to Aberaeron and Rhayader |
| North Wales | SP Energy Networks (SP Manweb) | Merseyside and North Wales, about 1.5 million customers |
The boundary across Mid-Wales is not published as a simple line we could confirm, so a Mid-Wales site north of Aberaeron or Rhayader should check its DNO on the connection offer rather than assume. Both operators follow the Great Britain rules: G98 covers small installs up to 16A per phase on a fit-and-inform basis, and anything larger falls under G99, which means the DNO approves the connection before installation.
One threshold moved in 2025 in Wales's favour. For England and Wales the point at which a distribution connection needs a Transmission Impact Assessment rose from 1MW to 5MW (code modification CMP446), where there are no fault-level issues. In Scotland it stays at 200kW on the mainland, so a mid-sized Welsh rooftop PPA avoids a study a similar Scottish site would need.
Sources: NGED — South Wales long-term development statement; Ofgem — SP Energy Networks profile; NESO — streamlining connection projects under 5MW (12 May 2025). Checked 3 November 2026.
Private wire PPAs under the Welsh guidance
The Welsh Government has published guidance written specifically for private wire energy systems, the arrangement in which a generator feeds a nearby consumer over its own cable. It appeared on 29 June 2026, and four points from it shape a PPA:
- Distance. A private wire is most viable when the generator and consumer "are located within a few miles of each other".
- On-site or off-site. In an on-site scheme "the generation asset is located on the same site as the consumer"; an off-site scheme uses a generator at a separate site nearby.
- Contract length. Private wire schemes need long-term arrangements, "typically 15 years or more", which is why they are usually written as PPAs.
- Licensing. Selling the power needs a supply licence unless an exemption applies; the guidance points to the "small supplier" exemption for generating assets with a total installed capacity of less than 5MW.
The mechanics, cable costs and licence classes are in our private wire PPA guide, and the case study the guidance itself uses, Cardiff Council's solar farm, is covered in Lamby Way: a Welsh private wire in practice.
Sources: Welsh Government — Private wire energy systems: guidance (29 June 2026). Checked 3 November 2026.
Export: SEG applies, and the PPA decides who keeps it
The Smart Export Guarantee covers installations located in Great Britain, so a Welsh array up to 5MW can be paid for exported power, and Ofgem requires every SEG rate to be above zero. Under a PPA the provider owns the array, so whether the export income goes to the provider or is shared with you is a term of the contract, not a rule. A site that is empty at weekends, or a school over the summer, should read that clause first. SEG versus a PPA works through when export matters.
Sources: Ofgem — Smart Export Guarantee. Checked 3 November 2026.
Business rates on a provider-owned array
Welsh rating law has its own instrument. SI 2023/1229 excepts plant used to generate or store power mainly from listed renewable sources, photovoltaics included, from rateable value from 1 April 2024 until before 1 April 2035. The Welsh Government described the policy as being about on-site renewables, and how it treats a standalone generating site is not confirmed, so read it as covering plant on the property. Most PPAs signed in 2026 run past 2035, so the contract should say who carries any rates liability after the exception ends; business rates on a solar PPA covers the ratepayer question.
Sources: The Non-Domestic Rating (Wales) SI 2023/1229. Checked 3 November 2026.
Yield across Wales, and what it does to price
A funder prices a PPA from the kWh a roof will produce, so Welsh yield matters more than any national average. PVGIS models these long-term averages per kilowatt-peak:
| Modelled site (PVGIS v5.3) | Optimal tilt | 10° due south (flat-roof proxy) |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 1,044 kWh/kWp | 946 kWh/kWp |
| Swansea | 1,016 kWh/kWp | 921 kWh/kWp |
| Wrexham | 970 kWh/kWp | 876 kWh/kWp |
These are modelled figures (SARAH3 radiation data, 14% system losses), not a guarantee; east-west or building-integrated layouts will be lower. On these figures a Cardiff roof produces about 8% more per kWp than a Wrexham roof, which is enough to move a tariff; the estates and network detail for the capital are on solar PPAs in Cardiff. We do not publish a Wales-specific PPA price: how PPA rates are set explains the modelled bands and what moves them.
For context, Wales had just over 1.4 GW of solar PV at the end of 2024, with 151 MW added that year across just under 16,000 projects. Renewable generation equalled 55% of Welsh electricity consumption in 2024, against Welsh Government targets of 70% by 2030 and 100% by 2035. The statutory target is net zero by 2050.
For the generators behind larger off-site deals, Wales changed its consent regime on 15 December 2025: non-wind generating stations of 50 to 350MW are now Significant Infrastructure Projects, while schemes below 50MW usually go to the local planning authority.
Sources: EU JRC — PVGIS v5.3 (SARAH3, 14% losses); Welsh Government — Energy Generation and Use in Wales (August 2026, PDF); Welsh Government — climate change targets and carbon budgets; Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024, section 2. Checked 3 November 2026.
If you were hoping for a grant
Realistic expectations
A private Welsh business should not plan a solar project around a grant in November 2026. The main capital grant is closed, Business Wales does not run a solar grant, and the open routes are loans.
- Ynni Cymru 2026/27 closed to applications at 12pm on 21 May 2026, and its page now says applications are closed, with no future round announced. Even when open, an SME's solar PV counted only for the share beyond a 10-year simple payback, capped at 40%, and solar PV plus a battery on its own was ineligible.
- Development Bank of Wales Green Business Loan Scheme is a loan, not a grant: £1,000 to £1.5m over terms of up to 15 years, for Welsh businesses trading at least two years, and it names solar PV.
- Welsh Government Energy Service supports public bodies and community groups only, to March 2027.
- Public bodies can borrow through Salix's Wales Funding Programme at a fixed 2.45%; Invest to Save, for bodies without borrowing powers, is interest-free.
That leaves three realistic routes, described here as information rather than advice. A solar PPA needs no capital because the provider owns the array. Owning it, with a loan, a lease or cash, earns the £1m Annual Investment Allowance and then the 50% special-rate first-year allowance, not full expensing; PPA vs grant-funded solar has the nation-by-nation status of every scheme.
Sources: Welsh Government — Ynni Cymru capital grant 2026 to 2027; Ynni Cymru 2026 to 2027 guidance (PDF); Development Bank of Wales — Green Business Loan Scheme; Senedd written question WQ96151 (GBLS loan size and term); Welsh Government Energy Service (public sector and community groups); Salix — Wales Funding Programme; CAA 2001 s104A (special rate expenditure). Checked 3 November 2026.
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Solar PPAs in Wales: questions
Is a solar PPA different in Wales?
The contract is the same as in England: a provider funds, owns and maintains the array and you pay per kWh for what it generates. What differs is local detail: NGED or SP Manweb runs your connection, the Welsh Government has its own private-wire guidance (June 2026), Welsh rates law excepts renewables plant until April 2035, and Welsh grant rounds such as Ynni Cymru are closed.
Does the Smart Export Guarantee apply in Wales?
Yes. SEG covers installations in Great Britain, which includes Wales, up to 5MW, and Ofgem requires SEG rates to be above zero. Under a PPA the contract decides whether you or the provider keeps the export income.
Can a Welsh public body use a PPA alongside Salix's Wales Funding Programme?
They are different tools. The Wales Funding Programme is a loan at a fixed 2.45% (Invest to Save, for bodies without borrowing powers, is interest-free) that pays for an asset the body owns; under a PPA the provider owns the array. A body can use each on different buildings, but one array is normally either loan-funded and owned, or provider-owned under a PPA.
Sources for the figures on this page
| Figure on this page | Value | Source (checked 3 November 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| NGED South Wales area | ~1.2m customers, 11,800 km², Pembrokeshire to Monmouth, north to Aberaeron and Rhayader | NGED — South Wales long-term development statement |
| SP Manweb area | Merseyside and North Wales, ~1.5m customers | Ofgem — SP Energy Networks profile |
| TIA threshold, England and Wales | 1MW raised to 5MW (CMP446) | NESO — streamlining connection projects under 5MW (12 May 2025) |
| Private wire guidance | 29 June 2026: within a few miles; 15 years or more; small supplier exemption below 5MW | Welsh Government — Private wire energy systems: guidance (29 June 2026) |
| SEG | Great Britain only; up to 5MW; rates above zero | Ofgem — Smart Export Guarantee |
| Rates exception | SI 2023/1229, 1 April 2024 to before 1 April 2035 | The Non-Domestic Rating (Wales) SI 2023/1229 |
| PVGIS yield | Cardiff 1,044 / 946; Swansea 1,016 / 921; Wrexham 970 / 876 kWh/kWp | EU JRC — PVGIS v5.3 (SARAH3, 14% losses) |
| Solar and renewables in Wales | 1.4 GW solar end-2024; 151 MW added in 2024; renewables 55% of consumption | Welsh Government — Energy Generation and Use in Wales (August 2026, PDF) |
| Ynni Cymru 2026/27 | Closed 12pm 21 May 2026; SME PV share beyond 10-year payback, capped 40% | Ynni Cymru 2026 to 2027 guidance (PDF) |
| DBW Green Business Loan Scheme | £1,000 to £1.5m, up to 15 years | Senedd written question WQ96151 (GBLS loan size and term) |
| Wales Funding Programme | Fixed 2.45%; Invest to Save interest-free | Salix — Wales Funding Programme |
| Significant Infrastructure Projects | From 15 December 2025; non-wind 50-350MW | Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024, section 2 |