Three ways to fund it. One honest comparison.
The engineering is the same whichever route you take. What changes is who owns the asset, who carries the risk, and how it lands on your books. Here's the comparison without a thumb on the scale.
Should I buy a solar plant outright or use an OPEX/PPA model?
It depends on whether you want the asset or the outcome. Under CAPEX you fund the plant, own it, keep every unit it generates and — if eligible — claim accelerated depreciation. Under OPEX or a PPA a third party funds and owns the system on your roof, and you buy its output at a contracted rate per unit with no capital outlay and no depreciation benefit, because you do not own the asset. Neither is better in the abstract. The deciding factors are your access to capital, your tax position, and whether you want the maintenance obligation.
Own it, finance it, or buy the power.
CAPEX — outright purchase
You fund the system and own it. Every unit generated is yours, with no per-unit payment to anyone. Eligible businesses can claim accelerated depreciation on the asset. Highest long-term value if you have the capital and the tax position to use it.
CAPEX — financed
You still own the asset, but fund it through a lender rather than cash reserves. Keeps working capital in the business while preserving ownership and the depreciation position. Terms depend entirely on credit assessment.
OPEX / PPA
An investor owns the system on your roof; you buy the power from it at a contracted rate per unit. No capital outlay, performance risk sits with the owner. Simplest route if capital is better deployed elsewhere in your business.
Three questions that usually settle it.
Do you own the building?
A 25-year asset on a roof you might leave in four years is a different conversation. Lease term and renewal rights matter more than most people expect.
Can you use the depreciation?
Accelerated depreciation only helps if you have taxable profit to set it against. If not, a large part of the CAPEX advantage doesn't land — and OPEX gets more attractive.
What else would that capital do?
If deploying it into your core business returns more than the solar asset would, OPEX can be the rational choice even when CAPEX looks better on a spreadsheet.
How we handle the money conversation.
We are not a financier and don't intend to become one. Our role is to package the engineering and the numbers so a lender or investor can assess it quickly — and to be straight with you about what terms depend on your own credit position rather than on us.
Financing and OPEX structures are subject to credit assessment by the relevant lending or investment partner. Tax benefits, including accelerated depreciation under Section 32 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, are subject to eligibility — consult your tax advisor. We do not quote interest rates or financing terms on this website; those come from the partner, in writing, for your specific case.
What we charge for, and what we don't.
Research says buyers are meaningfully more likely to engage with a supplier that's open about how it makes money. So here it is, plainly.
| Stage | What it costs you |
|---|---|
| First read of your bills | Nothing. Send two bills and a roof photo; we tell you whether a site study is worth doing — including when the answer is no. |
| Site study | Quoted before we do it, never as a surprise. Where a project proceeds with us, it is credited against the project. |
| Proposal | Nothing. It comes with its assumptions written out, and you may interrogate any figure in it. |
| The system | Under CAPEX, you pay for equipment, engineering, installation and approvals — itemised, not a single opaque number. Under OPEX, you pay only the contracted rate per unit. |
| O&M | A defined ongoing scope with a defined price. Not a vague promise of "support". |
We don't take undisclosed commissions on equipment selection, we don't quote a price before we've seen the site, and we don't publish rates on this website that we can't hold to for your specific case. Anything we can't stand behind in writing, we don't say.
Bring your bills. We'll model all three.
Same system, three funding routes, side by side — with the assumptions written out so you can challenge them.