UK ready-meal manufacturer · 380kWp + refrigeration + heat recovery
380 kWp (production hall + cold store roofs) commercial solar PV installation with combined grant + tax relief stack delivering 1.8 years post-tax payback on £420,000 gross capex.
Anonymised composite case study
Names, dates and exact financial figures have been changed to preserve client confidentiality. Project structure, funding combinations, technical configuration, and order-of-magnitude figures are real and based on completed work. Full editorial disclosure on the about page.
Project snapshot
| Sector | Food manufacturing · ready-meals and chilled foods |
| Location | East Midlands |
| System size | 380 kWp (production hall + cold store roofs) |
| Battery storage | 200 kWh (LFP, refrigeration load smoothing) |
| Gross project capex | £420,000 |
| Grant value | £168,000 (IETF Phase 3 — 40% of refrigeration package) |
| Year-1 tax relief | £105,000 (Full Expensing — limited company) |
| Net effective cost | £147,000 |
| Annual savings/revenue | £82,500/year |
| Post-tax payback | 1.8 years |
| CO2 saving | 85 tCO2e/year |
| Year commissioned | 2024 |
Context
The manufacturer produces chilled ready-meals for UK supermarket private-label brands — annual revenue £42m, 280 staff across a single East Midlands production facility. The facility comprises a 6,400 m² production hall, 1,800 m² chilled storage, and ancillary office and despatch space.
Annual electricity consumption: 2.8 GWh — dominated by refrigeration (40%), production line motors (30%), packaging (15%), lighting and HVAC (15%). Annual gas: 1.1 GWh for hot water and CIP cleaning.
In 2023, two major customers (Tesco and Sainsbury's, accounting for 65% of revenue) tightened their supplier sustainability requirements to include verified Scope 1+2 emissions disclosure and a credible decarbonisation roadmap. The Board approved an energy reduction programme targeting 30% Scope 2 reduction by 2027.
The challenge
Three specific challenges shaped the project:
1. **Refrigeration plant age.** The chilled storage refrigeration was 1990s vintage with deteriorating efficiency. Replacement was independently justified; combined with solar PV created strong IETF case.
2. **Roof condition.** The production hall roof was profiled steel (2002 construction) — fine for solar mounting. The chilled storage roof was ACS (1985) — required replacement before solar (£45,000 added cost).
3. **DNO export limit.** Local network capacity was tight — initial DNO capacity study returned a 100kW export limit on a potential 500kWp system. Negotiated up to 250kW with battery storage participation.
4. **24-month delivery window.** The supplier sustainability requirements gave 24 months to demonstrate verifiable Scope 2 reduction. Roof refurbishment + refrigeration replacement + solar installation = tight schedule.
Funding approach
The project structured the IETF application around three integrated interventions:
1. **Refrigeration replacement.** Modern ammonia plant replacing the legacy R22 refrigeration. 22% energy efficiency improvement.
2. **Waste heat recovery.** From refrigeration condenser to hot water generation. Replaces 60% of gas hot water load.
3. **Solar PV with battery.** 380 kWp solar + 200 kWh battery. Battery sized for evening refrigeration load smoothing.
Combined energy saving projection: 780,000 kWh/year (28% baseline reduction).
Funding stack:
- **IETF Phase 3 grant:** £168,000 (40% of refrigeration package; solar PV included as supporting technology) - **Full Expensing tax relief:** £105,000 (25% × £420,000 capex) - **Asset finance (Hampshire Trust Bank):** £252,000 over 5 years at 7.5% APR (for non-grant-funded balance) - **Internal cash:** £42,000 (deposit and pre-grant funding)
Net project cost after grant and tax relief: £147,000 — 35% of gross capex.
Outcome & performance
All three interventions completed by Q4 2024. Year-one combined performance:
- **Annual electricity import reduction:** £61,200/year (refrigeration + solar self-consumption) - **SEG export revenue:** £14,500/year (battery-optimised export) - **Gas reduction (waste heat recovery):** £6,800/year - **Total annual savings:** £82,500/year - **CO2 saving:** 320 tCO2e/year combined (solar 85 + refrigeration 195 + heat recovery 40) - **Scope 2 reduction:** 32% from 2022 baseline
The supplier sustainability audit completed in Q2 2026 with no findings. Both major customer contracts retained. The manufacturer is now developing a follow-on 250 kWp Phase 4 IETF application for process electrification of the cooking line.
Lessons learned
- IETF strongly prefers integrated decarbonisation packages — solar alone applications struggle. Refrigeration + heat recovery + solar combined delivered 40% grant on £420k capex.
- ACS roof replacement is a hidden but typical 10-15% capex item on older industrial buildings. Always identify pre-application.
- DNO export limit negotiation is real — battery storage participation in National Grid demand response opened doors to higher export limits.
- Supplier sustainability requirements are now driving more UK industrial solar than government policy. Customer audit timelines often more material than grant windows.
- Heat recovery from refrigeration is often economically justified alone — combining with solar in the IETF package adds 10-15 percentage points of grant intensity.
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