Public Sector & Education
A secondary school, local authority estate
This is an illustrative scenario for a local-authority secondary school. It is weighing solar as part of a published net-zero commitment. However, it must work within the capital constraints and procurement rules that apply across a council-maintained estate.
Illustrative example: this is a composite scenario built from patterns typical of public sector & education sites — it is not a specific named client, and the figures below are not a promise of what any real site would achieve. We publish it to show how we think through this kind of decision, not as a verified track record.
This is an illustrative example only, not a description of a specific school, council or verified result. It still shows the kind of process and trade-offs involved in a public-sector solar decision.
The scenario: a secondary school within a local authority's maintained estate. It has a suitable roof and sits under a published council net-zero target. However, the council allocates capital tightly. Many priorities compete for funding across the wider schools estate. Any procurement route has to be compliant and auditable, because public money and public scrutiny both apply.
A typical assessment weighs three funding routes. These are prudential borrowing against the council's own capital programme, available grant schemes for public-sector decarbonisation, and a third-party-funded on-site PPA. Although the PPA needs no capital outlay at all, it yields a lower long-run saving than outright ownership.
The council usually runs procurement itself through an established public-sector framework or a compliant tender. Since public money is involved, it applies a weighted evaluation on price, quality and delivery track record, so the selection stays defensible on audit.
School buildings sit under strict health-and-safety and access constraints. These include term-time working windows, safeguarding requirements around site access, and roof access over occupied teaching spaces. As a result, the delivery programme typically has to run around holiday periods, rather than as a single continuous install.
Illustrative modelling for a scenario like this points to the PPA route as attractive where capital is the binding constraint. However, prudential borrowing offers the better long-run return where capital headroom exists.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real client result?
No — this is an illustrative, composite scenario reflecting typical public-sector constraints, not a specific named school, council or verified outcome. We use it to show how a compliant procurement process actually plays out, not to promise a specific figure.
Can this kind of procurement really be run within council rules?
Yes in principle — public-sector solar is routinely procured through compliant tenders or established frameworks. The specifics depend on your council's own procurement rules and thresholds, which we work within rather than around.
Weighing up a similar site?
This scenario is illustrative, built to show how we approach a decision like this one. Your own building or estate will differ in roof space, usage, and grid connection. A feasibility study therefore gives you the real numbers before you commit to anything.