Our approach
A structured, independent method
Commercial solar goes wrong when it's bought before it's understood. We follow the same disciplined sequence on every engagement, so the decision is made on evidence — not on an installer's enthusiasm.
Solar Strategies is an advisory practice with no product to sell and no installation arm to feed. That single fact shapes everything: we're paid for judgement, not for shifting hardware, so our recommendations answer only one question — is this the right decision for you?
The method below runs from the first conversation to the figures in your annual report. You can engage us for the whole arc or a single stage — a feasibility study, a second opinion on a PPA, a tender you need run properly — but the discipline is the same throughout.
- 01
Discovery
We start with your objectives, estate and constraints — the sites in scope, your load and tariffs, the capital available and the carbon or reporting goals driving the decision.
- 02
Feasibility
Desktop and on-site assessment of each site: roof or land capacity, structural loading, shading, yield and grid headroom — producing an honest go / no-go on viability.
- 03
Business case
We model capex, opex and return on your own data, net of capital allowances, and set out the funding options — outright purchase, lease or PPA — as a board-ready case.
- 04
Procurement
We write the specification, run a fair tender and evaluate bids on a weighted scorecard, so you appoint the right installer on genuinely comparable, auditable terms.
- 05
Delivery assurance
As your client-side adviser we oversee installation, commissioning and hand-over against the specification — holding the contractor to the standard you paid for.
- 06
Optimisation & reporting
After switch-on we monitor performance against the model and produce the carbon and cost evidence your SECR and ESG reporting needs — refining as tariffs and technology change.
Why independence matters
The commercial solar market is crowded with two kinds of "consultant": installers who dress a sales survey up as advice, and large engineering firms for whom solar is a minor side-line. Neither is set up to give you a straight, solar-specialist answer that might be "don't do this".
We are. Because we hold no supplier relationships and earn no commission, the feasibility study can recommend against a scheme, the tender is run purely in your interest, and the PPA review is on your side of the table. That independence is the whole value of the engagement — and the reason our advice stands up to a board, an auditor or an investment committee.
Start with a conversation
Most engagements begin with a short, no-obligation consultation about the decision you're facing. Tell us where you are and we'll suggest the right first step.