Unlocking the power of private wire: A smarter path to renewable energy

As the UK real estate sector navigates through energy market reforms, businesses face mounting challenges to control expenses, lower carbon footprints, and ensure sustainable energy supply. Private wire renewable energy projects are emerging as a robust solution to these demands.

Benefits of private wire agreements

There are several benefits to the end user associated with private wire agreements including:

• Price Certainty: Locking in a long-term Power Purchase Agreement  (PPA ) is valuable in an increasingly volatile energy market 
• Cost Savings: By avoiding wholesale power costs and transmission fees, offtakers can secure electricity at rates 30–50% lower than grid prices. 
• Supplementing Grid Power: Combining a private wire supply with batteries and smart demand management systems can help businesses navigate challenges with the grid
• Decarbonisation: These projects help businesses meet their sustainability goals and reduce Scope 2 emissions. 

Policy and opportunity

Private wires also support recent Government policy announcements. The Solar Roadmap (June 2025) recognises private wire as a key enabler of faster solar deployment. The Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy (July 2025) highlights the need for alternative routes to market for smaller-scale wind projects.

Solar PV is the most common private wire technology due to its relative cost, reliability and unintrusive nature. The door has been opened by the Government for onshore wind by removing a de facto ban on turbines in the English planning system. Wind and solar power in tandem can supply around 70% of a site’s demand across a year, before any form of battery joins the mix. 

Although there is currently no nationwide mandate, proving that power comes from an additional renewable energy source could also add thousands to the value of a private wire when it comes to carbon accounting.

Private wire PPAs providing certainty

By connecting directly to a renewable generation station, a private wire cuts out both the wholesale power cost and a lot of the non-commodity costs associated with delivering power to a site through the grid.

Data shows wholesale prices have somewhat stabilised after the energy crisis of 2021/22, however there is no guarantee that prices will remain low due to volatility.

Private wire PPA prices are typically between £80-120/MWh fully delivered. For large consumers who consume thousands of megawatt hours each year, the value of hedging with a private wire PPA becomes quickly apparent.

A corporate ‘sleeved’ PPA is one method of locking in a low price for a renewable energy supply. These contracts fix a wholesale rate with a generator, and are facilitated by electricity suppliers. However, there are also non commodity charges which must be paid on top of the wholesale rate, and these currently make up about 50% of a final electricity bill. A lot of these charges are either index linked government levies, or used to support the UK’s highly constrained transmission and distribution networks which are in need of significant investment so have steadily risen since 2016. Suppliers have no control over these charges and must pass them through to the end consumers.

Private wire developments are decoupled from both wholesale power prices and non-commodity charges. Private wire PPAs therefore tend to be long term fixed prices and offer security to users.

The Government has announced support with bills for high electricity consumers in the Industrial Strategy. We expect costs to be competitive with a private wire.

Not all businesses will benefit from this support, but even for those that do, what sets private wires apart is the value of the price certainty for years to come.

Further information

Contact James Foster

Private wire: Boosting energy project value for landowners, developers and occupiers