Commercial Solar Panels

Commercial Solar Panel Installation

Installing a commercial solar PV system can significantly reduce a business’s energy costs while improving its long-term financial and environmental performance.

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Glide Energy is a Channel Partner with Smart Ease!

The smart way to savings
& sustainability

Making energy efficiency
an easy choice

With our payment solutions for solar panels and storage, LEDs and more, you can start saving instantly and take control of your energy costs.

Great value

We offer some of the most competitive payment solutions around.

Get on top of costs

Get bills under control and give your business certainty over future costs.

*Subject to credit criteria and approval

£0 up front

Nothing to pay now and choose a plan and instalments to suit you.

Better for cash flow

Savings on bills can make your equipment cash-flow positive instantly.

Fast and easy

Use our simple online application and get instant approval for transactions up to £150K.*

We've significantly reduced our energy bill and we were cash-flow positive from day one

We didn’t pay up front for equipment and we've significantly reduced our energy bill and we were cash-flow positive from day one. Now around 60% of our energy use is renewable and we are doing our bit for the environment..
Stomping Ground Brewery

Why businesses install commercial solar

Reduce electricity bills – Generate your own electricity during daylight hours and reduce the amount of expensive grid electricity your business needs to buy.
Protect against rising energy prices – Solar reduces your exposure to future increases in electricity tariffs, providing greater control over operating costs.
Make use of unused roof space – Large commercial and industrial roofs can provide an excellent opportunity to generate substantial amounts of renewable electricity.
Improve profitability – Once installed, solar panels have relatively low operating and maintenance costs, so the electricity they generate can continue delivering savings for many years.
Reduce carbon emissions – Solar PV generates clean electricity without the direct emissions associated with conventional grid generation, helping businesses meet carbon-reduction targets.
Increase energy independence – Generating electricity on-site reduces reliance on the electricity grid and can be combined with battery storage to increase the amount of solar energy used by the business.
Export surplus electricity – Where a business generates more electricity than it needs, surplus power can potentially be exported to the grid, creating an additional revenue stream.
Support ESG and sustainability goals – Installing renewable energy demonstrates a tangible commitment to sustainability, which can be valuable to customers, investors, employees and supply-chain partners.
Future-proof the business – Solar works particularly well alongside battery storage, EV charging and other energy-efficiency technologies, creating a more flexible commercial energy system.

Solar PV Benefits

Smart Export Guarantee

The Smart Export Guarantee came into affect in January 2020. The Smart Export Guarantee is an obligation set by the government for licensed electricity suppliers to offer a tariff and to pay small-scale low carbon Generators and Micro-generators for any electricity that they export to the National Grid.

Underpinned by the SEG Order and the SEG License Conditions, the Smart Export Guarantee is available for solar PV and other renewable power systems, sized to a total installed capacity of 5MW.

The Solar Trade Association is keeping a track on developments with smart export tariffs and prices.

Is the Smart Export Guarantee worth it?

The smartest way, is, was, and likely always will be, to install and use Solar Power yourself.

The Smart Export Guarantee is a positive development, but goes nowhere near far enough to reward or encourage prospective buyers.

That means the Smart Export Guarantee allows companies to buy electricity from you for, at most, 27% of the price they charge you.

Systems with battery storage are worth consideration to utilise as much of your own free energy as possible dependant upon your energy usage profile.

Are Commercial Solar Panels Worth It for My Business?

Solar panels should be the go-to energy generating solution for businesses across the UK. Not only do they help save money on energy costs, but they also help promote your business as a green pioneer.

The majority of businesses operate in the daytime, so it makes financial sense to switch to solar energy. And even if you operate at night, combining solar panels with solar batteries means you could continue powering your business after dark.

As renewable energy becomes an ever-greater share of the UK’s energy supply, more and more businesses will make the switch. Get ahead of the curve and use solar panels to power your business.

Will I need planning permission?

Permitted Development Rights were applied to solar PV systems installed onto commercial, industrial and agricultural roofspaces in England on the 6th April 2012. The key piece of legistaltion is The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2012.

Installing a solar PV panel system will now in most cases come under 'Permitted Development Rights' we can advise on planning conditions where required:

What Maintenance will my PV system require

Once a solar panel system is installed, all it will do from then on is save you money. Solar panels last for decades, no matter which type, so the odds of having to replace one are slim.

Solar panels have no moving parts and are therefore often described as maintenance free. Of course, solar panels do degrade at varying rates but should always come with a minimum power output warranty for 25 years or more to ensure a high level of performance. They are famously resilient and on the slim chance that something does go wrong, most solar panel product warranties last 10 years or more.