CHP unit finance
Funding for combined heat and power engines, from packaged units in a plant room to containerised sets on farm and industrial sites.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance a CHP unit?
Yes, and CHP is more fundable than most renewable assets. The engine is a serial-numbered machine from a known manufacturer with an international second-hand market, so it holds real recovery value — particularly where it is containerised and sits on a base rather than being built into a plant room. What complicates matters is everything around it: the heat distribution, grid connection works and acoustic housing are site improvements. Funders look at the split, at the maintenance contract behind the engine, and at how the heat and power are actually used.
Used kit: Yes. Reconditioned gas engines with documented running hours and an overhaul history are an established market and funders will lend against them.
Get a quoteor call 07581 364281
What would a CHP unit cost per month?
Business asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what this shows — with the equivalent APR underneath, because the two are not the same number. A quick guide only; your actual rate depends on the asset, term, deposit and lender.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 6.0% flat rate (equivalent to 11.5% APR representative), you would repay around £646 a month; total amount repayable approximately £31,000, of which £6,000 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. CW Asset Finance is an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701).
How lenders treat it
CHP behaves more like a machine than a fixture, which is the reason funder appetite is comparatively good. Engines from established manufacturers are tracked, traded and serviced worldwide, and a containerised set can genuinely be craned out. Long-term service agreements matter to funders here in a way they do not elsewhere — an engine without a maintenance contract is a depreciating liability, and a funder will ask who is covering the overhauls. Running hours are the equivalent of mileage. Where the unit generates evidenced export income or displaces metered purchased power, that cash flow can be considered alongside the accounts. Heat mains, flues and civil works within the project remain unrecoverable and are looked at more cautiously.
Makes and models we fund
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| Jenbacher J312 gas engine | Gas fired combined heat and power unit |
| Jenbacher J420 gas engine | Large gas engine CHP set |
| 2G agenitor 306 | Gas engine CHP module |
| 2G avus 500 | Containerised gas engine CHP |
| Clarke Energy containerised CHP | Packaged containerised CHP plant |
| MWM TCG 2020 gas engine | Industrial gas engine CHP set |
| MAN gas engine CHP module | Gas engine heat and power package |
| EC Power XRGI 20 | Small scale micro CHP unit |
| SenerTec Dachs micro CHP | Building scale micro CHP module |
| Biogas fuelled CHP heat recovery package | Exhaust and jacket heat recovery skid |
Get a quoteor call 07581 364281
Who buys one
Hospitals, hotels and leisure centres with constant hot water demand, food processors needing steam and power together, glasshouse growers using both heat and carbon dioxide, and AD sites converting biogas on farm. The trigger is often a simultaneous heat and power demand running around the clock, or an existing engine approaching a major overhaul where replacement makes more sense than rebuilding.
Get a quoteor call 07581 364281
How it is treated for tax
Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
CHP unit finance questions
Why is CHP easier to finance than solar or heat pumps?
Because it is genuinely a machine. A gas engine has a serial number, an established resale market and worldwide service support, so a funder can see a route to recovering value. A roof array or a plumbed-in heat pump offers nothing comparable once installed. That difference in recoverability is what widens the pool of funders willing to quote.
Do funders want to see a maintenance contract?
Frequently, yes. CHP engines need scheduled overhauls and their value depends entirely on being maintained. A long-term service agreement with the manufacturer or an approved provider reassures a funder that the asset will still be worth something partway through the agreement. Send the service proposal in with the engine quotation.
Can I finance a replacement engine for an existing plant?
Yes, and these are among the more straightforward applications. The site is proven, the demand is evidenced and the asset being bought is identifiable. Whether the old engine is being traded in or scrapped should be shown clearly, as it affects the amount being funded.
Is a containerised unit treated differently from one in a plant room?
It is, favourably. A container sitting on a concrete base can be lifted and moved, whereas an engine installed inside a purpose-built plant room with the roof closed over it is far harder to recover. Where you have a choice, containerisation tends to widen funder appetite.
What if the engine runs on biogas rather than natural gas?
Biogas engines are funded too, though funders will want to understand the gas source and whether it is secure. On an operating AD site with a proven feedstock this is usually straightforward. Where the gas supply itself is speculative, the engine application becomes harder. Funders will ask what happens to the machine if the gas stops.
Get a quoteor call 07581 364281
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Get your quote
Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 07581 364281 · serving Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire.