For many South African businesses, estates, and property owners, installing solar PV was a decisive move toward energy certainty. It reduced exposure to load shedding, stabilised electricity costs, and demonstrated long-term thinking in an increasingly volatile power market.
But as the energy landscape matures, a new question is emerging:
Does owning your solar plant still make sense?
In many cases, the answer is no — and selling your existing solar plant and transitioning to a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) may unlock far more value than continuing to own the asset outright.
On paper, owning solar PV looks simple: you pay upfront, generate cheaper electricity, and enjoy the savings. In practice, ownership comes with growing complexity over time.
Operating a solar plant is not a “set and forget” exercise. Asset owners are responsible for:
As systems age, these responsibilities become more pronounced. Performance drops, maintenance costs rise, and the risk of downtime increases — often at the very moment businesses need certainty the most.
What began as an energy solution can quietly turn into a balance-sheet and operational burden.
Across global energy markets, selling operational renewable assets has become common practice. The logic is simple: capital is often better deployed elsewhere.
Selling your solar plant allows you to:
The key insight is this: you don’t need to own the asset to benefit from the energy it produces.
A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) separates energy consumption from asset ownership.
Under a PPA, the solar plant remains on your site, but ownership, performance risk, maintenance, and long-term optimisation sit with the energy partner — not you. You simply purchase the electricity produced at a predetermined tariff, typically well below municipal rates.
This model delivers:
For many organisations, this aligns far better with their core business objectives.
At Decentral Energy, we’ve taken this concept one step further.
We don’t ask clients to write off their original investment or accept a discounted exit. We buy back your existing solar plant at the same price you originally paid for it, subject to technical due diligence.
From there, the system transitions into a Decentral-managed PPA:
The result is immediate balance-sheet relief without compromising energy security or sustainability goals.
South Africa’s energy reality is defined by uncertainty: tariff restructuring, grid instability, rising maintenance costs, and increasing compliance requirements.
In this environment, tying up capital in owned energy infrastructure is not always optimal — especially when alternative models offer the same benefits with less risk.
Selling your solar plant and moving to a PPA allows you to:
It’s a shift from asset ownership to energy certainty — and for many, that shift is long overdue.
Installing solar was the first smart decision.
Optimising how it sits on your balance sheet might be the next.
As the solar market matures, the question is no longer “Should we go solar?” but rather “What is the most efficient way to use solar?”
For many businesses, estates, and property owners, the answer is clear: sell the asset, keep the energy, and let specialists manage the risk.
At Decentral Energy, we believe energy should work for your business — not the other way around.
