Six steps from first question to final report
Solar goes wrong when people buy it before they understand it. So we take every job through the same six steps, in the same order, because order matters.
Each step below ends with something you can use, even if you stop there. A feasibility study, for example, is useful on its own. So is a tender pack, or a marked-up PPA. Nothing locks you in to the next stage.
The order matters, though. If you price a system before you know the grid can take it, the quote is worthless. If you sign a funding deal before you know your own demand, you may pay for power you never use. These steps stop that from happening, while still letting you move quickly.
- 01
Discovery
We find out what you want solar to do for you. That might be lower bills, a fixed price for power or a carbon goal. We list the sites in scope, the budget and any deadlines, since these shape every later step.
- 02
Feasibility
We check each roof or field for space, shade, weight limits and grid room. Then we estimate what it would make. You get a clear yes, no or not yet for each site.
- 03
Business case
We model cost, savings and payback from your own bills and tariff, after tax relief. We compare buying, leasing and a PPA, for example at your own cost of capital. The result is a paper your board can test line by line.
- 04
Procurement
We write one spec and ask several installers to price it. We score every bid on the same sheet. You pick the best value, while the scoring makes the choice easy to defend later.
- 05
Delivery assurance
While the system goes in, we act for you, not the contractor. We check the work against the spec, through testing and hand-over, and flag gaps before you sign it off.
- 06
Optimisation & reporting
Once it is running, we compare real output with the model. We turn the results into figures for your energy and carbon reports. Still, the work is not done, because tariffs shift and the model needs updating.
Where most solar projects go wrong
Someone sizes the system to the roof, not the load. A bigger array looks better on paper. Yet if you are closed at weekends or quiet in summer, the grid buys much of the extra power for far less than you pay for it.
Nobody checks the grid until the end. A G99 application can bring upgrade costs or a long wait. Finding that out after you sign the contract is the costly way round, since you are already committed.
The tax sums are wrong. Solar panels are special rate spend under HMRC's rules, so the 100% full expensing relief does not apply. A payback built on it will look better than it is. See HMRC manual CA22335.
You can't compare the quotes. Three installers, three designs, three ways of stating yield. One shared spec turns that into a like-for-like choice, because every bid then prices the same job.
Not sure which step you're at?
Tell us what you have so far, for example an idea, a quote or a contract. We'll suggest where to start.