Midlands Manufacturing: 250kWp IETF Birmingham Solar
Case study: 250kWp Birmingham factory rooftop. IETF Phase 3 + Full Expensing reduced net cost from £225k to £86k. ROI in 4.2 years.
The site
A West Midlands metal fabrication plant operating 6 days a week with substantial press, machining and welding electrical demand. Annual electricity demand was 1.6 GWh against a 1,400 m² industrial roof on a 2003-built portal frame.
The brief
The owner had a £180,000 quote in hand for a 250 kWp rooftop install, with an installer-modelled payback of 6.4 years before grants. The board considered the payback marginal against the company’s 5-year hurdle. The brief: see if a grant could move payback inside the hurdle, or recommend not proceeding.
What we did
Energy data showed strong daytime self-consumption potential — typical industrial Mon-Sat 06:30-18:30 profile, with the press and machining loads aligning well with the daytime solar generation curve. We modelled three scenarios:
- Cash + Full Expensing only (no grant)
- IETF Phase 2 application with bundled measures
- PPA-funded zero-capex
The IETF route looked most credible because the site met energy-intensity thresholds and had a documented decarbonisation roadmap from a prior ESOS audit. We rebuilt the project as a PV + heat-recovery package, with the heat-recovery measure adding 22 tCO2e/year for £20k capex — pushing the carbon score above the IETF threshold.
The numbers
- Headline capex: £180,000 (PV) + £20,000 (heat recovery) = £200,000
- IETF Phase 2 grant: £45,000 (22.5% effective)
- Full Expensing on net: £38,750 (25% of £155k)
- Net cost: £116,250
- Annual savings: £42,000
- Payback: 4.3 years (vs. 6.4 years on the original installer model)
What happened
Project commissioned April 2024. First-year monitoring shows yield within 3% of model. The owner subsequently scoped a second-stage 120 kWp expansion with the same team.
Why it worked
The integrated heat-recovery measure was decisive — solar alone would not have scored above the IETF carbon threshold. A standalone PV application would have lost.
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