Solar Panels for Small Businesses: Shops, Units, Workshops and Practices

Is solar worth it for a small business?

The price you pay for each kWh sets what each kWh of solar saves. Smaller users pay more (DESNZ):

• Good fits. Shops with chillers and lighting open through the day, workshops with tools and compressors, offices, salons, practices and small food businesses.
• Harder fits. Businesses that use most of their power in the evening or overnight, such as a takeaway that opens at five. A battery can help, at extra cost.
• The test. Whether you would use most of what the panels make. Twelve months of bills, or half-hourly data if you have it, answers that.

More: commercial solar payback and cutting business energy costs.

Small systems: what 10 to 30 kW does

PVGIS, the European Commission's solar tool, gives about 968 kWh a year for each kW of panels facing south at 35 degrees in Birmingham (PVGIS). Further north it is less, further south more, and east-west roofs make less per kW.

If a 10 kW system would make more than you use in daylight, the extra is exported at an export tariff, worth much less than what you pay. Size to your use, not your roof. See commercial solar system sizes and how much solar you need.

Renting your premises

Most small businesses rent. Solar is still possible, with a few things agreed in writing first:

• Landlord consent. Written consent for the installation. Grant schemes ask for it too (Three Rivers District Council's grant does, for example).
• Who owns the panels. Whether they stay yours, pass to the landlord, or are removed if you leave.
• The lease length. How long is left, against how long the system takes to pay back.
• Repairs and the roof. Who maintains the panels and what happens when the roof needs work.

Source: Three Rivers District Council. Lease clauses and green leases in detail: solar on a leased building.

Single-phase and three-phase supplies

Smaller premises sometimes have a single-phase supply, like a house. That decides the connection route (ENA, NIE Networks):

A bigger system on a single-phase supply may be allowed with an export limit, or the supply can be upgraded through the network operator. The survey checks your supply and fuse rating. More: grid connection for business solar.

Paying for it

• Cash and tax relief. The Annual Investment Allowance lets a business deduct up to £1 million a year of qualifying spending from its profits (GOV.UK). See capital allowances.
• Green loans. The British Business Bank says green loans from banks and other lenders typically fund things like renewable energy and green buildings, and advises shopping around and getting independent financial advice (British Business Bank).
• Leasing or hire purchase. Spread the cost over the system's early years; who owns the panels differs between them. See paying for commercial solar.
• Local grants. A few councils have open grants, such as Three Rivers in Hertfordshire. See solar panel grants for businesses.

You are in good company: in the British Business Bank's 2025 survey, 29% of medium-sized businesses had already installed on-site renewable energy and 13% planned to (SMEs and Net Zero 2025).