8 min read read
Unlike a tractor or a mower, a solar array or AD plant doesn't replace an existing cost so much as create a new income or savings line. That makes the finance conversation as much about the underlying business case as the asset itself.
The situation
A roof or ground-mount solar installation sized for a farm's own consumption typically runs £30,000-£150,000 depending on scale; add battery storage and that rises further. Anaerobic digestion is a different order of investment, often £1m or more for a farm-scale plant, usually justified by feedstock availability and a long-term power purchase or export arrangement. The economics in every case depend on self-consumption levels, export tariff terms and how energy-intensive the business is — a dairy unit with robotic milking and refrigeration uses power very differently from an arable farm.
What tends to go wrong
- Sizing the installation to available roof or land space rather than actual consumption, leaving excess export at a lower return than self-consumption savings
- Financing over a term significantly shorter than the payback period, creating a cash-flow gap in the early years
- Overlooking planning, grid connection and DNO timescales, which can run longer than the finance offer stays valid
- Treating battery storage as automatically worthwhile without checking whether time-of-use tariffs or export patterns justify it
How we would structure it
Hire purchase is common for solar and storage, with the term set to sit close to but slightly inside the payback period, so savings begin covering payments as the system beds in. For larger AD or generation projects with a longer development timeline, a phased drawdown structure can align funding with construction and commissioning milestones rather than a single upfront release. We'd also look at whether existing plant such as an older solar array could be refinanced to help fund an expansion.
| Asset | Typical structure | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Solar array (self-consumption) | Hire purchase | 6-10 years |
| Battery storage | Hire purchase | 5-8 years |
| Anaerobic digestion plant | Phased/staged facility | 10-15 years |
Worked example
Illustrative solar and battery installation
- System size
- 100kWp solar + 60kWh battery
- Total cost
- £118,000
- Deposit
- £11,800
- Structure
- Hire purchase, 8 years
- Monthly payment (illustrative)
- £1,690
- Estimated annual energy saving (illustrative)
- £16,000-£20,000
Figures are illustrative only; energy savings depend on consumption, tariffs and system performance, and should be confirmed with an independent survey.
What to have ready
- Recent energy bills or a half-hourly consumption profile if available
- Installer quote including grid connection and any planning costs
- DNO application status and expected connection date
- For AD projects, feedstock supply agreements and any power purchase arrangements
Get the installer's consumption-based sizing and quote to us alongside your recent energy bills, and we can look at whether the term and payback line up before you commit.
Next step
Talk through the numbers with us
Send us the details of the asset and we will come back with an indicative figure and a properly structured option from the funder panel. No obligation, and no pressure to proceed.