Weightmans, in partnership with UKWA, has offered guidance on various scenarios and issues that warehouse occupiers should contemplate before entering into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a generator (the company that typically funds and arranges the installation of the solar panels) and when a lease or sub-lease of the airspace above the warehouse is also necessary.
The guidance addresses two scenarios:
The occupier leases the entire building covering;
- The lease of the whole building including subsoil and airspace
- The duration of the lease requested by the generator
- Whether the generator can act as sub-tenants
- Whether the occupier can grant the generator access to parts of the building
- Considerations at the end of the lease
The occupier’s property is specifically defined as ending at the upper side of the roof slab, tiling or other roof-finishing
- Only the freeholder or landlord can grant a lease to a generator
- The rights to maintain, repair and renew equipment
- The connection or installing new cabling from solar panels to meters
- Separate leasing of airspace
Other points for an occupier to consider
- The possibility of a quasi-licence/PPA being considered
- Whether the occupier requires landlord consent to any sub-letting
- Agreeing a schedule and methodology of works
- If airspace is leased, plans for proposed equipment must be reviewed
- The option for the occupier to terminate the lease if installation isn’t completed within a certain timeframe
- Contingency plans in case the PPA terminates prematurely
- What happens if the occupier transfers it lease or ceases to occupy the property
- The fate of equipment after the PPA concludes
For the complete article on guidance when considering the installation of solar systems, please download it here.
For more information on solar energy and maintenance plans, please contact our EcoSolar Team or call 01455 552 511.