Charging fleet and staff cars from your own solar
Vehicles are the most flexible load a business has. A van parked from 9 to 5, or a pool car between jobs, can take power whenever the panels produce it. That makes EV charging a good partner for solar: midday output that the building can't use goes into vehicles instead of being exported.
- Daytime charging. Fleets back at the depot at midday, staff cars parked all day, pool cars
- Smart chargers. Can follow solar output, charging faster when panels are producing
- Overnight charging. Needs grid power, or a battery filled by the panels during the day
- Customer charging. Brings its own rules and, at most businesses, is outside the grant
How much charging solar can cover
That depends on the size of the array, where you are and how much of its output the building already uses. On PVGIS figures, each kW of panels facing south at 35 degrees produces roughly 850 to 1,120 kWh a year across the UK, about two thirds of it from April to September (PVGIS). Summer charging is well covered; winter charging much less.
Example only
A 40 kW solar carport in Birmingham
- PVGIS: about 875 kWh per kW a year at a 10° tilt, typical for a canopy
- 40 kW × 875 = about 35,000 kWh a year
- Spread unevenly: far more in June than in December
- How much of that goes into vehicles depends on when they are parked and what the building uses at the same time
Example only. Your installer models it from your site, your half-hourly data and your fleet's pattern.
See solar output in the UK and half-hourly data.
Plan solar and charging together for your site: book a free site survey.
Book a free site surveyThe Workplace Charging Scheme
| The rule | |
|---|---|
| Open until | 31 March 2027, extended for a final year |
| Grant | Up to 75% of purchase and installation costs (including VAT) |
| Cap | £500 per socket for installations completed from 1 April 2026; £350 before |
| Sockets | Up to 40 across all your sites |
| Who can apply | Businesses, charities, public sector organisations, small accommodation businesses |
| Who can use them | At a business, staff or fleet only (residents may use them outside working hours); no restriction for public authorities, charities and small accommodation businesses |
| Where | England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland |
| Property | You must own it or have the landlord's consent, with off-road parking designated to you |
Sources: Find a grant, GOV.UK changes from 1 April 2026, guidance for applicants. State-funded education institutions have a separate, higher rate. The grant pays towards chargers, not solar panels.
Capital allowances on chargers and cars
GOV.UK says that if you buy them new and unused before April 2027, you can claim 100% first-year allowances on equipment for electric vehicle charging points and on electric cars and cars with zero CO2 emissions (GOV.UK). Solar panels are different: they are special rate expenditure, covered in our guide to capital allowances on solar panels.
Carports and canopies
A solar carport generates power over the very spaces where vehicles charge, shelters them, and adds generation where the roof is small or unsuitable. It is a structural and planning job, so the survey looks at foundations, layout and planning before design. Car dealerships, depots, retail parks and holiday parks often have the space: see dealerships and garages, retail and holiday parks.
Batteries and charging after dark
Vehicles that come back in the evening miss the solar output. A battery can store the midday surplus for them, but it adds cost, so it is worth modelling against your fleet's real pattern. Chargers and solar together also change what the site draws from and sends to the grid, which the network operator looks at: see commercial battery storage and grid connection.
Sources
The Workplace Charging Scheme listing and GOV.UK guidance, GOV.UK first-year allowances and PVGIS 5.3 were read or queried on 2 November 2026. The scheme ends on 31 March 2027.
- Find a grant: Workplace Charging Scheme (open until 31 March 2027)
- GOV.UK: Changes to electric vehicle chargepoint grant schemes from 1 April 2026
- GOV.UK: Workplace Charging Scheme, guidance for applicants
- GOV.UK: 100% first-year allowances (zero-emission cars and EV charging equipment)
- European Commission JRC: PVGIS 5.3