Types of PPA explained: on-site, off-site, sleeved and virtual

This is the most common type for individual businesses. Solar (and often battery storage) is installed on your roof or land, and you buy the power it generates at an agreed rate. It is simple, visible and directly cuts the electricity you draw from the grid.

Here the generation happens somewhere else — a solar or wind farm — and the power is delivered to you through the grid, often "sleeved" via your energy supplier. These tend to suit larger organisations buying significant volumes of renewable energy.

A virtual PPA is a financial arrangement rather than a physical supply. The business and generator settle the difference between an agreed price and the market price, while power is bought and sold as normal. It is mainly used by large corporates for hedging and carbon goals.

If you want solar on your own building with no upfront cost, an on-site PPA is almost certainly what you need. We focus on funded on-site solar and battery for UK commercial sites.