Solar with nothing on your books
Under a PPA we finance, build, own and run the system on your site. You buy the electricity it produces at an agreed rate. No capital outlay, no maintenance obligation, no asset to depreciate.
The mechanics
You are buying units, not equipment
A PPA is a supply contract, typically running ten to twenty years. The distinction from a loan matters: with a loan you own an asset and owe money against it. With a PPA you own nothing and owe nothing. You simply pay less per unit than the grid charges, from the first month.
What sits with us
Capital cost, installation, insurance, performance risk, maintenance and regulatory compliance for the system. If output disappoints, that is our problem, and the contract should be written so it stays our problem.
What sits with you
Roof access for the contract term, and payment for the units you consume at the agreed tariff. Your obligation is operational, not financial, which is why a PPA rarely competes with your other capex.
Tariff, tenure and escalation are set per project against your load profile and roof. The structures below describe how they are usually shaped, not a published price list.
Structures
Three ways to shape the tariff
Fixed tariff
Certainty above all
One rate per kWh for the life of the contract. Your energy cost stops moving while grid tariffs keep climbing, which is the entire point.
- Simplest to budget against and to explain internally
- Full protection from tariff revisions
- Highest starting rate of the three, since we absorb inflation risk
Escalating tariff
Cheaper now, rising slowly
A lower opening rate that steps up by an agreed percentage each year, set well below expected grid escalation so the gap widens over time.
- Eases cash flow in the early years
- Suits businesses expecting load and revenue to grow
- Needs the escalation rate checked against realistic tariff forecasts
Hybrid
Split the difference
A base rate with capped escalation. Lower than a pure fixed tariff at the start, more predictable than a pure escalator later.
- Caps the worst case on both sides
- Works for multi-site portfolios with differing profiles
- More negotiation, so allow longer to structure
Worth understanding
What to check before signing any PPA
What happens if generation falls short
Ask whether the contract carries a minimum performance guarantee, how underperformance is compensated, and what deviation is tolerated before compensation applies. A PPA without a performance floor transfers less risk than it appears to.
The escalation rate against grid reality
An escalating tariff is only attractive if it rises more slowly than the grid. BERC raised retail tariffs 16.68% on average from the June 2026 cycle, its first revision since 2020, so multi-year averages can understate how sharply the grid moves when it does.
End of term
Establish now what happens in year fifteen or twenty. Removal, extension, or transfer of the asset to you, and on what basis. The system will still have useful life left, and that value should be allocated in writing at the start.
Roof and access rights
A long contract needs clear terms on roof access, structural responsibility, what happens if you re-roof, and what happens if you sell the building. These are ordinary questions that become expensive when left vague.
Best fit
Where a PPA beats owning
Capital is committed elsewhere
If machinery, expansion or working capital is competing for the same money, a PPA removes solar from that queue entirely.
Large roof, high daytime load
Factories, warehouses and campuses consuming through daylight hours capture almost all the generation on site, which is where the value is greatest.
Buyer compliance pressure
Export businesses needing documented renewable supply get the reporting without the asset, and without the internal approval a capex request would need.
Compare a PPA against owning it
Run the calculator to see what ownership looks like, then talk to us about what a PPA tariff would be for the same roof. The comparison is usually clearer than either number alone.