Insights
Independent commentary on commercial solar
Feasibility, financing, procurement, planning and net-zero strategy — written the way we advise: plain English, real figures, no product to sell you.
Due diligence checklist: what to verify before signing any commercial solar contract
A practical, verify-it-yourself checklist for commercial solar buyers — installer accreditation, financial standing, warranty terms and what separates a fair contract from a risky one.
Scotland's Section 36 consenting process for solar, explained
How large Scottish solar schemes are actually consented — the 50MW threshold, the Energy Consents Unit, and why the process has almost nothing in common with planning permission in England or Wales.
Battery storage for commercial solar: is it worth the extra capital?
Battery storage sometimes genuinely improves a commercial solar payback case. However, other times it just adds capital cost without a clear return. This guide looks honestly at when each outcome applies.
Dairy farms and solar: rooftop, ground-mount and grazing income compared
How a working dairy operation should weigh parlour-roof solar, ground-mount arrays and grazed land-lease income against its own load profile, roof stock and grid position.
Ground-mount vs rooftop solar: how to decide for a commercial site
A practical framework for choosing between rooftop, ground-mount and car-park canopy solar on a commercial site — roof condition, land availability, planning and cost compared.
Solar procurement under the Procurement Act 2023: a guide for public-sector buyers
How councils, schools, universities and the NHS can run a compliant, audit-ready solar tender under the Procurement Act 2023 — or buy through the Crown Commercial Service's RM6314 framework instead.
What happened to the Feed-in Tariff, and what replaced it?
The Feed-in Tariff closed to new applicants in 2019 — here's what that actually meant, why the Smart Export Guarantee replaced only part of it, and how to compare SEG tariffs as a commercial exporter.
Agrivoltaics in the UK: grazing and cropping alongside solar
Agrivoltaic solar keeps land in production while panels generate power above it. Panel height and spacing differ a great deal between grazing and arable cropping setups. This guide also covers the planning case it makes, and what a landowner should check before signing up.
SECR and ESG reporting: how solar evidence actually fits in
What SECR actually requires, how on-site solar generation should be evidenced, and why treating solar as the whole net-zero answer is the mistake that gets picked apart at board level.
Solar farm land leases: how much are landowners actually being paid in 2026?
Real UK land-lease rent benchmarks for solar farms in 2026 — what Savills and Strutt & Parker actually report, what moves the number, and the inheritance-tax catch most offers don't mention.
G99 explained: the grid connection process for commercial solar
A plain-English walkthrough of Engineering Recommendation G99 — the DNO application process every commercial solar system above rooftop-domestic scale has to clear, and where it typically slows down or gets expensive.
Independent solar advisor vs installer survey: what's actually different
Why an installer's 'free survey' and genuine independent solar advice are structurally different things — and what that difference actually costs you if you get it wrong.
Agricultural Land Classification and solar: what farmers need to know before signing a lease
Agricultural Land Classification grades shape whether a solar scheme can win planning permission. Land graded Best and Most Versatile faces a strong presumption against building on it. As a result, this grading should guide how a farm negotiates its solar lease.
Solar for warehouses and logistics: why the biggest roofs pay back fastest
Why warehouse and distribution-centre solar has the strongest payback profile in UK commercial property, and the structural, grid and roof-age checks that decide whether a specific building can actually take it.
What does a commercial solar feasibility study actually involve?
A step-by-step look at what happens during a commercial solar feasibility study — the structural survey, the G99 grid application, the standards it's checked against, and what a genuine go/no-go recommendation looks like.
The tax mistake solar salespeople make about "Full Expensing"
Solar panels do not qualify for the UK's 100% Full Expensing allowance — a widespread claim in commercial-solar sales material that HMRC's own manual directly contradicts.
PPA vs outright purchase vs lease: the full comparison
A side-by-side look at how outright purchase, equipment lease and power purchase agreements really compare on capital outlay, tax treatment, balance-sheet impact and risk for UK commercial solar.
How much does commercial solar cost in 2026?
Real installed-cost and payback ranges for UK commercial solar, from 100kW rooftop systems to 1MW+ ground-mount arrays, with the tax treatment most guides get wrong.
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