Commercial Solar Case Studies
Real UK commercial solar installations — system size, financing, payback, and operational outcomes across the property types we serve.
300 kW rooftop install on a Tier-1 automotive supplier in the West Midlands
Our client operates a precision-engineered components plant running double-shift 6 days a week. Annual electricity demand was 1.4 GWh against escalating £140k-plus quarterly bills. We modelled the existing 4,500 sqm composite roof from drawings, ran a structural recalculation against the original 1998 design, and proposed a 300 kW system with 92% self-consumption and a 4.8-year payback.
- System
- 300 kW
- Annual saving
- £68,000
- Payback
- 4.8 years
Outcome: Installed in 4 weeks during the August shutdown. First-year output 14% above forecast. Customer signed a second-phase 200 kW battery contract within 18 months.
120 kW roof install on a multi-academy trust secondary school in the East Midlands
An 1,100-pupil secondary school within a 6-academy MAT received a Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme award covering 100% of capital cost. We delivered the feasibility through Low Carbon Skills Fund first (£28k feasibility grant) then designed and installed a 120 kW classroom-block array with curriculum-integrated monitoring. DBS-checked install crew, term-time-only working over a 5-week summer holiday window.
- System
- 120 kW
- Annual saving
- £21,500
- Payback
- 0 years
Outcome: 100% PSDS grant funded. Live monitoring dashboard now used in physics, geography, and design technology. Trust scaled the model to 5 further sites in the following two years.
650 kW PPA install on a logistics distribution centre in the South East
A 12,000 sqm regional distribution centre was operating at 22p/kWh on a 5-year fixed contract due to expire. The owner wanted zero-capital, no balance-sheet treatment, and a fixed energy rate below grid. We delivered under a 20-year PPA — installer-owned 650 kW rooftop system with 11p/kWh fixed energy rate to the host, plus a profit share on any export.
- System
- 650 kW
- Annual saving
- £72,000
- Payback
- 0 years
Outcome: Zero capital, no balance-sheet impact, fixed 11p/kWh energy rate for 20 years. Carbon savings of 130 tonnes/year reportable in the ESG annual report from year one.
How we present case studies
The case studies above are representative profiles drawn from our installed UK commercial solar fleet. Where customer-specific identifying details are commercially sensitive, we present scenarios at the same scale, with the same financial structure, and with the same regulatory context as the original install. Every published number — system size, generation, savings, payback — is grounded in real measured performance from our fleet, not modelled forecasts.
For commercial property owners considering on-site solar PV, case studies help calibrate expectations against real-world delivery. The four-to-seven-year payback range we cite across our installed fleet reflects consistent outcomes — not best-case modelling. Where customers wish to publish a named case study, we include the customer's own attribution and any supporting media. Where confidentiality is preferred, we present the install as an anonymised scenario.