Energy costs are one of the few significant budget lines where schools have genuine room to act. Not by squeezing supply contracts, where the margins are already thin, but by reducing how much grid electricity the school buys in the first place.
Rooftop solar is the most direct way to do that. The barrier has always been capital, and for most schools and trusts, it’s a barrier that doesn’t move. Six-figure infrastructure investment competes with everything else on a constrained budget, and solar rarely wins that argument regardless of the long-term return.
A Solar PPA removes the capital barrier to sustainability. UrbanVolt funds, installs, owns, and maintains a solar system on the school’s roof. The school buys the electricity it generates at a fixed rate typically 30 to 40% below the grid price from the day it goes live. No capital outlay, no maintenance liability, and no asset on the balance sheet.
The full mechanics of how the model works, from desktop assessment through to installation and long-term performance monitoring, are covered in our guide Fully Funded Solar for Schools – How UrbanVolt’s Model Works.
The financial structure
The agreement is an energy services contract, not a capital purchase. UrbanVolt retains ownership of the asset throughout. For a school business manager or bursar, that means no depreciation and no balance sheet entry, it sits alongside your other utility costs as an operating expense that happens to be significantly cheaper than the one it’s replacing.
The fixed PPA rate can run for between 10-25 years. Grid electricity has risen consistently over time, and because your solar rate doesn’t move, the gap between what you pay for solar and what you’d have paid from the grid widens every year. A typical school system generates six-figure cumulative savings over the contract term. For a Trust or Local Authority running multiple sites under the same framework, the aggregate saving is considerable.
What your school actually pays
Nothing upfront. The first cost your school incurs is the first monthly electricity charge once the system is generating, at the fixed rate set in the contract. All maintenance, cleaning, repairs, and remote performance monitoring are covered by UrbanVolt for the full PPA term.
One exception to the zero-cost entry: if the project reaches physical survey stage – where UrbanVolt assesses the roof and electrical infrastructure to finalise the system design – and then doesn’t proceed, there’s a maximum exposure of £1,000 per site. Projects that reach that stage proceed in the vast majority of cases, and this cost is simply wrapped into the PPA. Against annual savings that typically run to five figures, it’s not a meaningful financial risk, but it’s there and you should have it in front of you.
For Trusts, Local Authorities, and individual schools
The model works for a single school just as well as it does for a large estate – the financial structure is the same regardless of size. Where Trusts and Local Authorities have an additional advantage is on the procurement side. Multiple sites can be brought under a single framework agreement with one governance process covering the full portfolio. One set of heads of terms, one board-level approval, and a single procurement process rather than running each school as a separate project.
For an operations manager responsible for energy across a large estate, that removes a significant amount of administrative overhead. But for a standalone school or a single Academy Trust, the process is equally straightforward, just without the portfolio layer on top.
Sites don’t need to proceed simultaneously. Most Trusts start with the strongest candidates – typically the schools with the largest roofs and the highest daytime electricity consumption – and add further sites over time under the same framework. Local Authorities managing school estates can structure the arrangement the same way.
From first conversation to live system
UrbanVolt starts with a desktop assessment. You share energy data; we come back with an indicative benefits case you can put in front of governors or trustees. If the site doesn’t stack up, we say so at that stage and explain why. A Letter of Intent is all that’s needed to move to detailed development – no financial commitment beyond that point.
Most schools reach a signed agreement within eight to ten weeks of first contact. Installation is programmed to minimise disruption, with holiday periods used wherever the schedule allows.
For Trusts and Local Authorities carrying the cost of rising energy bills across multiple sites, funded solar is one of the most practical levers available. The capital question has an answer. The question now is which of your sites to start with.
Interested in getting started? Take a look at our school page and register your interest.