Power your home with the sun.

Yes — with an honest caveat about scale. A well-oriented commercial roof in the North East typically generates 800–950 kWh a year for each kWp installed, against a UK average of around 900; the south coast does better, northern Scotland worse. The bigger driver for a business is not latitude but timing: commercial buildings use power in the daytime, when the panels generate, so far more of the output offsets electricity you would otherwise buy at full price. Panels generate on overcast days too, at reduced output — the North East’s weather is priced into the yield figures, not hiding from them.

Usually not. Most rooftop solar on non-domestic buildings in England is permitted development, and the old 1 MW capacity cap on that right was removed in November 2023. Conditions still apply — panels must sit within set projection limits, and systems above 50 kW involve a prior-approval application to the council covering design and glare, which is a lighter process than full planning permission. Listed buildings and some conservation-area sites are the exception. We handle the planning legwork as part of the design stage.

No — not until at least 2035. Eligible plant and machinery used in onsite renewable generation and storage, including rooftop solar and batteries serving the building’s own consumption, is 100% exempt from business rates in England from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2035. The Valuation Office Agency applies the exemption automatically when valuing the property; there is nothing to claim.

Yes — but be careful with the version of this you read elsewhere. Some installer sites claim businesses get 100% "full expensing" on solar. That is wrong: solar panels are classed as special-rate plant, and special-rate assets are excluded from full expensing. What a company can actually use is the 50% special-rate first-year allowance — half the cost deducted in year one, the rest written down at 6% a year — or, often better for typical commercial systems, the Annual Investment Allowance, which gives a 100% deduction on qualifying plant including special-rate assets, up to £1 million a year. Which route fits depends on your structure and what else you are buying that year — confirm it with your accountant, and we will give them the figures.

Three stages, and you can stop at any of them. First, survey and feasibility: roof structure, metering, your consumption data, and a straight answer on whether solar stacks up — free, and genuinely no-obligation. Second, design and grid application: a system sized from your actual usage, and the G99 connection application to Northern Powergrid — the North East’s network operator — submitted and agreed before installation, so the system can legally export from day one. Third, installation and commissioning, planned around your operations — weekend and shutdown-window installs included — finishing with testing, certification, monitoring setup and a proper handover. Timescales depend mostly on the grid application and any consents; the on-roof work itself is typically days to a few weeks depending on system size.