Question 1

Can I get commercial solar with no upfront cost?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Both a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) are funded entirely by a third party — you deploy no capital at all. The funder pays for the design, equipment, installation and commissioning, owns the asset, and recovers its investment through what you pay for the energy it produces. Because you're buying energy rather than equipment, it typically sits as an operating cost rather than a capital request.

Question 2

What is a solar PPA and how does it work in the UK?

Accepted Answer

A Power Purchase Agreement is a long-term contract — usually 15–25 years — under which a third-party investor funds, owns and operates a solar system on your roof or land, and sells you the electricity it generates at a fixed price per kWh, typically 15–35% below your current grid tariff. You grant a roof or land lease, the generation is metered separately, and you import any shortfall from the grid as normal. At the end of the term you can usually buy the system for a pre-agreed sum, extend the contract, or have it removed.

Question 3

What is Energy-as-a-Service?

Accepted Answer

Energy-as-a-Service is a long-term contract where a provider designs, funds, owns, builds, operates and maintains your on-site energy assets — solar, battery storage, EV charging, controls and monitoring — and you pay a single fixed charge for the energy delivered. Unlike asset finance, all operation, servicing, insurance and performance risk sits with the provider for the life of the contract, so it's completely hands-off. At the end of the term you can extend, hand the system back, or buy it at a pre-agreed residual value.

Question 4

What's the difference between a PPA and Energy-as-a-Service?

Accepted Answer

Both are fully funded with no capital from you and both leave the asset in a third party's ownership. The practical difference is scope and pricing: a PPA is usually a single generation asset sold to you as pence per kWh generated, whereas Energy-as-a-Service bundles a wider set of assets — solar, battery, EV, controls — plus all operation and maintenance into one fixed charge for the energy delivered. EaaS is the more hands-off of the two and more common where a business wants one commercial model across several sites.

Question 5

Is a solar PPA off balance sheet?

Accepted Answer

It usually is, because you're contracting to buy energy rather than acquiring an asset — but it isn't automatic. Under IFRS 16 an arrangement can be pulled back onto the balance sheet if, in substance, it gives you the right to control an identified asset. If off-balance-sheet treatment is the reason you're choosing the route, have your auditor assess the specific contract before you commit rather than relying on the general position.

Question 6

What happens at the end of a PPA or EaaS contract?

Accepted Answer

You'll normally have three options, agreed at the outset rather than negotiated at the end: buy the system for a pre-agreed residual (often a nominal figure by then), extend the contract at a renegotiated rate, or have the funder remove the system and reinstate the roof. Solar panels typically have a 25–30 year working life, so a system bought out at the end of a 15–20 year contract can have a decade or more of generation left, with all of the savings then yours.

Question 7

Can I fund solar if I lease my building?

Accepted Answer

Often yes, and a funded route is usually the better fit for a tenant than buying outright, because you're not capitalising an asset you may have to leave behind. The critical points are your landlord's consent for a roof lease, whether your remaining lease term covers the contract term, and the assignment and step-in rights that let the agreement transfer cleanly if the building changes hands. These are solvable, but they're worth starting on day one — they're the most common reason a funded deal stalls.

Question 8

Can charities, schools and public bodies use these routes?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and they're often the strongest fit. Organisations outside the corporation-tax net can't use capital allowances, so much of the advantage of owning a system disappears — which makes a PPA or Energy-as-a-Service comparatively better value than it is for a tax-paying company. Public-sector procurement rules will shape how the contract is tendered, and there are dedicated public schemes and grant routes worth checking alongside the commercial ones.

Question 9

Which funding route gives the best return?

Accepted Answer

Buying outright, by a clear margin — you keep 100% of the savings and, if you're a UK tax-paying company, claim the capital allowances on the spend. Typical UK commercial solar returns 12–20% IRR on that basis with a 4–7 year payback. Every other route trades some of that return away in exchange for something else: asset finance trades a slice for keeping your cash, and PPA or Energy-as-a-Service trade more of it for zero capital, zero maintenance and zero performance risk. The right answer depends on what your capital is worth elsewhere, not on which number is biggest.

Question 10

How does asset finance for solar work?

Accepted Answer

A lender funds most or all of the project cost against the asset itself, and you repay over a fixed term — typically 5 to 10 years — at a set rate. On a well-sized commercial system the monthly energy saving is usually larger than the monthly repayment, so the project is cash-positive from early on. You still claim the capital allowances, and you own the asset outright once the agreement ends, leaving 15 or more years of saving on a system you no longer owe anything on.

Question 11

Do I still get the tax relief if I finance the system?

Accepted Answer

On asset finance, generally yes — the structure is designed so you're treated as acquiring the asset, so capital allowances remain available subject to your company's tax position and the specific agreement. On funder-owned routes such as a PPA or Energy-as-a-Service you don't own the asset, so the allowances sit with the funder rather than you; their value is instead reflected in the rate you're offered. Your accountant should confirm the treatment on the actual contract.

Question 12

How much does a commercial solar system cost?

Accepted Answer

Installed cost per kWp falls as the system gets bigger and varies with roof type and site specifics, so a mid-sized commercial rooftop is typically a few hundred thousand pounds of capital. The calculator on this page estimates your specific figure from your roof area and demand, and shows what it becomes under each funding route — a monthly repayment, a rate per kWh, or a fixed annual fee. A feasibility survey confirms it precisely.

Question 13

What size project do you need for a PPA or EaaS to work?

Accepted Answer

Funded routes carry legal, metering and administration costs that don't shrink with the system, so there's a practical floor below which a funder's return doesn't justify the work — smaller sites are usually better served by asset finance or buying outright. Strong, predictable daytime consumption matters as much as size, because the funder is recovering its money from electricity you actually use. The quickest way to find out is to model your site and let us tell you which routes a funder will realistically price.

Question 14

Are these numbers a quote?

Accepted Answer

No — every figure here is indicative. It's properly modelled rather than a rule of thumb, using your postcode's irradiance, panel degradation, energy-price inflation and each funding route's own cashflow, but it's explicitly a starting point. The precise numbers depend on your roof condition, shading, exact half-hourly demand profile and DNO grid capacity, which a free Nuvolt feasibility survey and data audit pin down before anything is contracted.

Feature	PPA£0 upfront	Energy-as-a-Service£0 upfront · fully maintained	Asset financeOwn it, spread the cost	Buy outright (CapEx)Strongest lifetime return
Upfront cost	£0	£0	Deposit (often £0)	100% upfront
Contract term	15–25 yrs	10–25 yrs	5–10 yrs (then owned)	25–30 yrs (asset life)
Who owns it	Investor (then optional buyout)	Provider (optional residual buy)	Yours at end of term	You own it
Balance sheet	Off balance sheet (typically)	Off balance sheet (typically)	Debt on balance sheet	On balance sheet
Savings from	Yes — month one	Yes — month one	Net of finance cost	After payback (3–7 yrs)
Maintenance	Investor's responsibility	Provider's responsibility	Your responsibility	Your responsibility

Put solar on your roof without touching your capital budget.

Select your business

We start with the outcome you want. Then we fund it to maximise it.

Start with the outcome

Size the system to reach it

Fund it the way that maximises it

Edwards Vacuum

The Vale Resort

Four Elms Group

Shaw Healthcare

Marston's PLC

Same system. Four commercial models.

How the four routes behave, on a building like yours.

The four routes, side by side.

These are the generic shapes. Yours will look different.

How each route actually works — including what to watch for.

Know which route you want? Skip to your numbers.

Most funders sell you one route. We model all four.

Zero capital doesn't have to mean zero return

The route is chosen by your numbers, not our margin

The contract terms matter more than the headline rate

One accountable contractor, whoever funds it

Every quarter you defer this is margin you don't get back.

The bill you don't cut, you pay

Grid connections take longer than the build

Capital allowances are a timing decision

From an estimate to a funded, installed system.

Model the system

Compare the routes

Pressure-test the numbers

Get the funding structured

Delivered without disruption. Operating. Measurably saving.

Edwards Vacuum

The Vale Resort

Shaw Healthcare

Solar funding, answered.

Every term a funder will use, in plain English.

Got a question these definitions don't answer?

Let's have a strategic conversation about your energy position.

Put solar on your roof without touching your capital budget.

Select your business

We start with the outcome you want. Then we fund it to maximise it.

Start with the outcome

Size the system to reach it

Fund it the way that maximises it

Edwards Vacuum

The Vale Resort

Four Elms Group

Shaw Healthcare

Marston's PLC

Same system. Four commercial models.

How the four routes behave, on a building like yours.

The four routes, side by side.

These are the generic shapes. Yours will look different.

How each route actually works — including what to watch for.

01Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)Pay per kWh. No CAPEX. No ownership.

02Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS)Fully bundled. Fixed unit rate. Day-one savings.

03Asset finance (loan or hire purchase)Spread the cost. Own it at the end.

04CAPEX (outright purchase)Own the asset. Keep every pound of saving.

Know which route you want? Skip to your numbers.

Most funders sell you one route. We model all four.

Zero capital doesn't have to mean zero return

The route is chosen by your numbers, not our margin

The contract terms matter more than the headline rate

One accountable contractor, whoever funds it

Every quarter you defer this is margin you don't get back.

The bill you don't cut, you pay

Grid connections take longer than the build

Capital allowances are a timing decision

From an estimate to a funded, installed system.

Model the system

Compare the routes

Pressure-test the numbers

Get the funding structured

Delivered without disruption. Operating. Measurably saving.

Edwards Vacuum

The Vale Resort

Shaw Healthcare

Solar funding, answered.

Zero-capital routesCan I get commercial solar with no upfront cost?

Zero-capital routesWhat is a solar PPA and how does it work in the UK?

Zero-capital routesWhat is Energy-as-a-Service?

Zero-capital routesWhat's the difference between a PPA and Energy-as-a-Service?

Zero-capital routesIs a solar PPA off balance sheet?

Zero-capital routesWhat happens at the end of a PPA or EaaS contract?

Zero-capital routesCan I fund solar if I lease my building?

Zero-capital routesCan charities, schools and public bodies use these routes?

Owned routes and returnsWhich funding route gives the best return?

Owned routes and returnsHow does asset finance for solar work?

Owned routes and returnsDo I still get the tax relief if I finance the system?

Owned routes and returnsHow much does a commercial solar system cost?

Owned routes and returnsWhat size project do you need for a PPA or EaaS to work?

Owned routes and returnsAre these numbers a quote?

Every term a funder will use, in plain English.

PPA ratep / kWh

Energy-as-a-Service fee£ / year (or p / kWh)

Take-or-pay (minimum volume)kWh / year

Buyout / residual value£

Contract termyears

Upfront cost (CapEx)£

Monthly repayment£ / month

Capital allowances / full expensing% of spend

Paybackyears

IRR%

On vs off balance sheeton / off

IFRS 16accounting standard

Cash-positive pointyear

Roof lease / landlord consentlegal

Got a question these definitions don't answer?

Let's have a strategic conversation about your energy position.