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Business Solar Grants

Get help paying for your commercial solar PV installation with business grants and government funding.

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More About Business Solar Panel Grants

Using business solar panel grants for commercial solar PV installations is a great way to reduce the cost of the initial outlay and improve your return on investment. The grant landscape changes regularly and is subject to certain eligibility criteria.

There are a lot of different options when it comes to funding your solar panels, you can either pay for them in full using CapEx, pay monthly over a number of years with Asset Finance, have someone else fund the solar project using a Power Purchase Agreement, or you can get help towards your investment with a business solar grant.

Although there are no specific grants available at present which are just for commercial solar PV systems, there are a number of grants available which can be used to partially fund your solar PV system.

Government grants for solar panels are often given to a finance company to manage such as Salix, or a central authority backed by the government such as the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. You need to apply to the relevant organisation for funding to help towards your solar PV project.

One thing to bear in mind when considering using funding to partially pay for your solar panels is the amount you stand to receive and the savings you could miss out on while you are waiting for the funding to be approved. Sometimes we find that companies who are using funding could have saved more on their energy bills than the amount they were going to receive over the time they waited to get approval.

The Process for all grants

1. Get 3 quotes.
2. Apply for your grant to help towards your commercial solar system and wait for approval.
3. Once approved, you will need to give the go ahead to your preferred solar installation company.
4. Once the installation is complete, you would need to apply for the funding to be released proving that you have paid the solar installation company.
5. Complete relevant forms to get funding released.

If you are using Asset Finance to fund your panels this may hinder the claim process as the grant company will require proof of payment to the solar installation company from your company. When using Asset Finance the finance company pay the installation company, so this may not be possible.

Please check with the company you are applying for the funding with before you proceed with your application.

Funding may be available through other industries such as fisheries and agricultural grants and you may be able to combine grants.

There are certain limits that a company can receive in grants in a given financial period you may be asked for the details of any previous grants awarded on your application forms.

Please check with the other grant providers to see if you can use the grant in conjunction with other grants.

If you are owned by a parent company, and the grant has eligibility criteria the statistics for the company as whole will be taken into account with the application.

All grants are to help create and grow, and you will need to demonstrate that you are going to employ more people as a result of what you are doing and you’re going to grow your business. You need to demonstrate that the project you are doing will enable you to grow.

You can get funding for solar panels if your premises is tenanted providing you have more than 10 years left on your lease.

Applying for grants can be straightforward, however some can be really comprehensive. We are connected to a number of organisations who understand grant eligibility and the application and claim process. We would be happy to connect you with these organisations who will be delighted to help.

If you are unsure if you are eligible for grants against your Solar PV installation please do not hesitate to contact us from more information.

Available Grants

The types of solar panel grants that are available changes quite frequently and depend on availability of funds. Please see below some of the grants that are currently accepting applications and can be used to partially fund commercial solar PV systems.

BEST Grant

This grant is available through BEST, the Business Energy Savings Team and is a green initiative funded by the UK Government.

It is available to business owners and organisations in Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland and Gateshead.

The maximum funding you can receive towards the cost of your project is £20,000.

Before you apply, you need to have and Business Energy Audit carried out to highlight measures you can put in place to reduce your carbon output, and for installing solar to be a recommended measure to take.
You will then need to acquire 3 quotes from 3 separate companies then apply for your funding.

It will take approximately 1 month to get a decision on your application, once you have been approved, you can appoint the installation company of your choice, have the system installed, then apply for the funding to be sent to you once you have paid for the installation in full.

If you would like help applying for the BEST grant, please get in touch with us today and we can put you in touch with an organisation who specialise in funding and eligibility.

Northumberland Grant

This grant is available to all businesses in Northumberland. Companies can claim up to 40% of the cost of their solar PV project (ex VAT) once the system has been installed. There is criteria which companies need to meet:

• Based in Northumberland
• Trading mainly as business to business
• Not in Public, Fisheries or Agricultural sectors
• Trading for more than 12 months
• Have less than 50 full time employees
• Be able to create more full-time employees (growing FTE) or demonstrate that you will safeguard current employees
• Your annual turnover is less than £10.2M and balance sheet less than £5.1M
• Have not exceeded the £200,000 Euros De Minimis in the last three years
• Be able to complete the project by December 2024

Before you apply for the grant money for your solar panels, if the cost of the investment is over £50,000, you need to publicly announce that you have an open tender available for the installation of solar to your business.

Once this is done, you can get 3 quotes for the commercial solar installation then apply for your funding. Once you have completed your application, it takes approximately 3 months to get a decision on whether you will receive the funding.
Decisions will be made on your eligibility and best business case.

Once you are approved for the funding, you can proceed with one of the companies you have received your quotes from, this does not necessarily need to be the cheapest, but the one that’s going to be the best value and provide the best service.

Once your business solar panels are installed, you need to pay for the installation in full, then complete a short form to claim your 40% of the cost, minus VAT, which is usually processed and in your account within 30 days.

The application process and paperwork for this grant is very involved, requiring a lot of information from you as a company. However, you can receive up to 12 hours of support from an independent organisation who can assist you with your application.

Please get in touch with us today to find out more about this.

This information is correct as of 14th June 2024.

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