Rooftop solar and battery storage for distribution parks, food and drink producers and Vale of York farms
The land between the A1(M), the M62 and the Ouse has changed fast. Coal and power stations have given way to some of the largest new warehouse buildings in Yorkshire, and the farms around them are as busy as ever. BrightEdge Solar designs and installs commercial solar panels and battery storage for businesses and farms in Selby, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Tadcaster, Eggborough and the surrounding villages. We’re based in Beverley, about 34 miles east. We’ve already worked nearby: a barn roof at Ellerton, near Bubwith, about 12 miles from Selby, and a new-build care home in Clifton, York.
Sherburn-in-Elmet has become a distribution and manufacturing hub, a few miles from junction 42 of the A1(M). Sherburn Enterprise Park and the newer Sherburn42 scheme next to it hold very large modern units. Some new buildings are designed with rooftop solar from the start. Plenty of the older ones on the same estates aren’t.
If you run or own a unit here, the questions we work through are:
See warehouse and industrial solar for how we approach large roofs.
Closer to the town, Olympia Park is a large mixed-use regeneration site between the river and the bypass, with land set aside for employment. South of the Aire, the former Eggborough power station site is being brought forward for industrial and warehouse use. New buildings are the cheapest time to add solar: if you’re fitting out a unit, talk to us before the electrical design is fixed, so the inverter location, cable routes and G99 application fit the build programme. We did exactly that on a care home in Clifton, York, about 15 miles from Selby, fitting 47.08 kWp on a lightweight ballasted system while the building was still going up.
Tadcaster has brewed beer for centuries, and the wider area has food processing, packaging and cold storage. These sites run refrigeration and process loads through the day, so most of the solar they generate is used on site. Where there’s a weekend or overnight load, a battery can shift surplus daytime generation to when it’s needed.
The flat land around Selby, Cawood, Riccall and Hemingbrough is good arable country, with large grain stores and machinery sheds. At Ellerton, near Bubwith, about 12 miles from Selby, we fitted 19.8 kWp of JA Solar 550 W panels to a barn’s trapezoidal roof, with two 8 kW Solis inverters. Where no building faces the right way, a ground mount can work: at Wapplington, near Pocklington, we installed a 29 kWp ground-mounted array on ballasted mounts. Much of the land near the Ouse and Aire is low-lying, so for ground mounts we check flood risk early. More on farm solar panels and solar panel grants for farms.
For homes in the area, see home solar panels and battery storage.
Selby district is in Northern Powergrid’s Yorkshire licence area. Commercial systems usually need G99 approval, which typically adds 8–12 weeks, and we manage it for you. If export capacity is limited, we design to an export limit. Read more about G99 applications. Planning is now handled by North Yorkshire Council. Rooftop solar on most commercial buildings is permitted development, subject to conditions, but listed buildings and conservation areas need more care.
The York and North Yorkshire business sustainability grants have closed. There’s no national grant for business solar, but capital allowances, the business rates exemption for on-site generation (England, to 31 March 2035) and Smart Export Guarantee payments still apply. If a new local scheme opens, we run the application with you. See solar panel grants for businesses.
| Job | Distance from Selby | What we did |
|---|---|---|
| Barn roof, Ellerton, near Bubwith | about 12 miles | 19.8 kWp of JA Solar 550 W panels, 2 × 8 kW Solis single-phase inverters |
| Care home, Clifton, York | about 15 miles | 47.08 kWp ballasted flat-roof system fitted during the build |
| Ground mount, Wapplington, near Pocklington | about 26 miles | 29 kWp ground-mounted array on ballasted mounts |
| Pyronix, Rotherham | about 37 miles | 69.16 kWp on a factory roof, with SolarEdge optimisers |
Distances are approximate road miles from Selby town centre.
MCS certified (NIC-601602), RECC member, NICEIC, CHAS Elite and a Fox ESS certified installer. Commercial installs come with our 24-month workmanship warranty, plus the manufacturers’ warranties. We design from your real consumption data and tell you plainly if solar doesn’t stack up.
Yes, along with Eggborough, Drax, Snaith, Cawood, Riccall and the villages across the former Selby district. Our nearest job is at Ellerton, near Bubwith, about 12 miles from Selby.
Usually, yes. We check the roof structure, rooflights and electrical supply, then design to the space and load. If you lease the unit, the landlord’s consent is needed.
As early as possible, before the electrical design is fixed. That lets us plan cable routes and the inverter location, and get the G99 application in so it doesn’t hold up opening.
We do. Selby is in Northern Powergrid’s Yorkshire area, and we submit and manage the G99 application.
Not at the moment. The York and North Yorkshire business sustainability grants have closed. Capital allowances and the business rates exemption usually matter more, and we’ll check for new schemes when we quote.