We installed 86.4kWp of solar PV on the roof of a national league football club’s ground. The club is looking at a 4.77-year payback on their capital expenditure, with an internal rate of return of 21.6%. Solar is an asset that generates returns from the day it is commissioned and keeps generating them for up to 30 years.
The 18,727kg of CO₂ saved annually is important to the club. But the decision to invest was commercial, and it is the same calculation sitting in front of every non-league and semi-professional football club in the country right now.
The financial case
Non-league football clubs have tight margins. Gate receipts, bar income, sponsorship, and facility hire cover the costs of running a ground that has to be maintained, staffed, and heated whether there is a game on or not. Electricity is a fixed cost that arrives every month and has only been increasing in recent years.
A 4.77-year payback means our client recoups its entire capital outlay in under five years. After that, the electricity the panels generate is free. Over a 30-year system life, the cumulative saving is substantial. The club can use it to hire more staff, better trainers and coaches, or improve their overall customer experience. This will also come with a return, but not one as predictable as solar PV.
The 21.6% IRR is the number that should interest any board treasurer or finance director. That is the annualised return on the capital invested, accounting for the full cost of installation and projected savings over the system’s lifetime. The payback period was calculated against current and predicted grid tariffs. As energy prices remain elevated, the actual return could outperform the model. Every year that electricity costs more than the projection, the IRR improves.
How the system was designed to deliver those returns
A solar system that underperforms voids the financial case. An 86.4kWp system generating 70kWp of actual output over its lifetime will not provide a 21.6% IRR. The commercial viability depends entirely on the installation being done correctly, and the panels generating.
Carbon3’s in-house design team surveyed the ground, modelled the roof’s generation profile across the full year, and sized the system to maximise self-consumption during the periods when the club’s electricity demand is highest, such as matchdays, evening training sessions, events and functions in the clubhouse. Self-consumed solar displaces grid electricity at full retail price. Exported electricity earns much less of that, so the design was built around keeping as much generation on site as possible.
High-efficiency panels were specified and installed by Carbon3’s directly employed engineers, with quality checks at every stage. Mounting hardware, electrical connections, inverter configuration, and commissioning were all handled in-house. The people who designed the system installed it and signed it off. Carbon3 does not subcontract design or electrical work.
The system is monitored remotely. If generation drops, Carbon3 will know before the club does, and can send an engineer out immediately to diagnose and remedy the issue.
What 18,727kg of CO₂ saves you beyond the electricity bill
Sports sponsorship is changing. Brands with their own net zero commitments are paying closer attention to the sustainability credentials of the clubs and venues they associate with. A ground with measurable, verified carbon reduction is a more attractive proposition than one without. The solar installation at this football club gives them a concrete, quantified sustainability figure: 18,727kg of CO₂ saved every year, for up to 30 years.
For sponsors whose own ESG reporting requires them to demonstrate environmental impact, an association with a club that has invested in renewable energy is worth something tangible. Carbon3 has seen this across sport and leisure; the solar installation justified on energy savings alone generates additional commercial value through the relationships it supports.
What this means for other football clubs
Our client funded this through capital expenditure. That route requires available capital and board approval, which is not always straightforward at this level. Carbon3 also delivers Fully-Funded Solar, where the club pays a lower per-unit rate for the electricity generated rather than any upfront cost. The operational saving starts immediately and no capital is required. Find out if your project is eligible.
