Power purchase agreements secure price and origin over the long term — but they do not replace the sizing question, they are one building block within it. This guide places PPA structures inside the overall architecture of an industrial site.
A physical PPA delivers actual electricity (on site or through the grid); a financial PPA (contract for difference) hedges only the price. The two act differently on the balance sheet, on bankability and on your own generation.
An on-site PPA (generation on your premises) maximises self-consumption and saves grid fees; an off-site PPA secures volume and origin without tying up land. The choice changes the optimal size of your own installation.
Fixed, indexed or collar — each structure distributes price risk differently. For bankability what counts is how stable the resulting cash flow is, not the lowest nominal price.
EXAIOS evaluates a PPA together with own generation and storage: how much own installation still makes sense once a PPA covers the residual price risk? Only the combination yields the most profitable overall architecture.
EXAIOS returns the decisive figures for every site:
We publish no invented numbers. Compute your real site in minutes — the first indication is free.
Start a free indicationNot necessarily — on-site generation saves grid fees that an off-site PPA does not address. EXAIOS works out the best combination.
The one that produces a stable, predictable cash flow. EXAIOS evaluates the resulting effect on DSCR and p10.
It depends on the financing and the appetite for risk. What decides is the effect on bankability across the project term.