Plymouth cold storage solar: Devonport port cold chain (fish landings, chilled import, blast freeze) within Plymouth Freeport ECA zone; Plymouth Wholesale Market (PL4 — food import, chilled produce, IETF-eligible (fund closed July 2025) cold chain); South Yard industrial cold chain. Best UK commercial irradiance: 990-1,050 kWh/kWp/yr. WPD G99: 5-7 months PL postcodes. Self-consumption blast freeze: 94-97%. Freeport ECA + IETF + irradiance: payback under 3 years for qualifying operators.
Local context — Plymouth
Plymouth cold store solar: Freeport ECA + IETF (closed July 2025) food cold chain + best UK irradiance = payback under 3 years for qualifying port cold chain. WPD 5-7 months G99. 94-97% self-consumption blast freeze.
Modelled scenario — Plymouth
Illustrative worked example — modelled from this site's indicative bands, not a real project.
A 800 kW solar install at a Devonport port fish cold store within Plymouth Freeport ECA zone. IETF 40%: £256k grant. Freeport ECA + AIA: £200k tax shield. Net effective capex: £344k. Annual saving (96% self-consumption, 28p/kWh): £205k. After-grant payback: 1.7 years.
Common questions — cold storage in Plymouth
Does Plymouth port cold chain qualify for both Freeport ECA and IETF (closed July 2025)?
Yes — fish processing cold chain within the Plymouth Freeport designated zone (Devonport area) qualifies for both. IETF covered food transformation cold chain (blast freeze, chilling, fish processing). Freeport ECA covers qualifying plant and machinery within the designated zone. The two can stack — though IETF (closed July 2025) grant reduces the eligible capex base for AIA/ECA calculation. We model exact stacking at free desk feasibility.