Choosing your Commercial Solar installation: types, benefits and considerations

Imagine walking around your business site at sunrise. The rooftop, the car park, that patch of open land at the edge of your property? All suddenly transformed from overlooked spaces into powerful engines of clean energy and savings.  

No two businesses are the same, and neither are their sites. The beauty of Commercial Solar is its flexibility – it can be tailored to fit your unique needs, ambitions, and your available space. 

What type of Commercial Solar installation is right for your organisation? 

Roof-mounted Solar 

If your business has a large, structurally sound rooftop – think warehouses, factories, distribution centres, or shopping centres – roof-mounted Solar is often the most straightforward and cost-effective option. A 10,000 m² industrial roof can typically accommodate 2–2.5 MW of Solar modules, generating around 2.5 million kWh of electricity per year. That’s enough to power nearly 1,000 homes, with the energy used directly by your facility. 

What kind of business should consider roof-mounted Solar? Organisations who have: 

• Expansive facilities
• High daytime electricity loads
• A desire to move quickly, as installations can often proceed under permitted development. 

What needs to be considered when proceeding with a roof-mounted Solar installation? 

• Your roof’s structural condition, capacity, orientation and shading are critical. Our engineers will assess your roof to ensure it can support the array (adding ballast or lightweight solutions as needed).
• It’s also important that your installation is designed in a way that will make it safe to maintain. Access pathways need to be considered, with guardrails or fall-arrest systems added to ensure maintenance can be conducted safely. 

Ground-mounted Solar 

If your roof space is limited or unsuitable, ground-mounted Solar could be the way to go. With ground-mounted Solar, modules are set up in rows on mounting frames, either on your premises or on nearby land that you own or lease. The modules can be oriented and tilted optimally (often due south at ~20 – 30° in the UK and Ireland) for maximum yield. 

What kind of business should consider ground-mounted Solar? Organisations who have: 

• Limited roof space, or a roof that’s unsuitable for a Solar installation
• High electricity demand, as the system can be scaled to multi-megawatt size if you have the space. 

What needs to be considered when proceeding with a ground-mounted Solar installation? 

• Planning permission is required, and dedicated expertise is required to manage this process
• Most planning authorities would like to see the project deliver a bio-diversity net gain, which can take the form of a Solar meadow under the modules, allowing sheep to roam the area, or similar
• A detailed site analysis (Solar irradiance, shading, available area) is required to ensure the design maximises your space and energy production potential
• A route will need to be agreed to connect the system physically back to your site
• An assessment on security requirements will be required

Solar Carports 

Turn your car park into a dual-purpose asset with Solar carports. These canopy structures provide shade for vehicles while generating clean electricity above. Add EV charging points and battery storage for even greater impact.  

What kind of business should consider Solar Carports? Organisations who: 

• Have large car parks
• Want to turn an otherwise idle asset into an energy producer, without reducing parking capacity
• Want to send a strong message to employees, customers, and partners that you walk the talk on renewable energy 

What needs to be considered when proceeding with a Solar Carport installation? 

• A carport typically holds slightly fewer modules per square meter than a ground-mounted array (because of the spacing that’s required between of parking rows), but the trade-off is dual functionality
• They can also be custom branded to include your corporate colours, logos, and even informative signage. This turns your Solar investment into a branding asset as well
• Expertise in civil engineering and rainwater management is required