Solar Panels for Factories & Manufacturing Sites

It depends entirely on the ratio of usable roof to consumption. A typical single-shift factory with a reasonable roof covers around 20-40% of annual electricity consumption. Energy-dense operations with small roofs relative to load - foundries, plating lines, plastics processing, cold stores - may only reach 10-15%. That is not a reason to walk away: the number that drives payback is what proportion of the array's output you self-consume, and on a manufacturing site that should be above 85%. A smaller array with 95% self-consumption pays back faster than a bigger one exporting half its output.

Yes. Anything exporting above 16 A per phase falls under Engineering Recommendation G99, which on a three-phase supply is roughly 11 kW - so every factory-scale array. The DNO must approve the connection before the system can be energised. Expect weeks rather than days, and expect the offer to specify protection settings and possibly an export limit. We prepare and submit the application, handle the technical correspondence and arrange witness testing. If your site sits on a constrained part of the network, an export limitation device usually resolves it with little effect on a self-consumption-led scheme.

Usually yes, and this is exactly the situation the Rapiscan Stoke job dealt with. The work is in the design: we survey the roof, model the obstructions, and produce a CAD set-out that works around cowls, AHUs, condensers, walkways and rooflights while keeping access and maintenance routes clear. Two things must be checked first though. The sheet needs enough remaining service life to justify a 25-year array on top of it, and where the building predates 2000 an asbestos survey and the duty-to-manage position under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 must be settled before roof access. If the roof needs replacing, that has to be dealt with first.

Sometimes, but the half-hourly data decides it, not a rule of thumb. If your daytime load already absorbs nearly all of the array's output, a battery has little surplus to store and the numbers rarely work. If the profile shows a genuine midday export surplus plus a substantial evening or back-shift load, storage can shift that energy into hours you would otherwise import, and can also support peak-shaving. We model both cases from your actual data and will tell you if storage does not earn its place in the scheme.

Yes, and for many manufacturers it is now as important as the bill saving. On-site generation directly reduces purchased electricity, which reduces reported Scope 2 emissions under both location-based and market-based accounting. Large companies already report this under SECR, and increasingly it is Tier 1 customers, retailers and public-sector frameworks driving the question down the supply chain. A metered on-site array produces generation data you can evidence and audit, which is a stronger position in a customer questionnaire than a purchased green tariff certificate alone.

Solar PV is treated as special rate plant, which means it is excluded from full expensing - be wary of any supplier claiming otherwise. The two realistic routes are the Annual Investment Allowance, which gives 100% relief up to £1m a year, or the 50% special rate first-year allowance. Separately, eligible on-site generation and storage is exempt from business rates in England to 31 March 2035. Note that the domestic zero rate of VAT does not apply to commercial premises. Confirm the position with your accountant. If capital expenditure is the obstacle, fully funded and PPA options are available on installations above 100 kW.