Sheffield and Rotherham still make things. Steel and special metals, forging, tooling, precision engineering and the advanced manufacturing firms clustered around the M1 between the two towns all run power-hungry kit through the working day. Many of them are owner-managed businesses in buildings they own, so the decision about solar can be made by the people who pay the electricity bill. BrightEdge Solar designs and installs commercial solar PV and battery storage for factories, workshops, warehouses, farms and public buildings across Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley. We’re based in Beverley, East Yorkshire, and travel nationally for larger commercial projects.
CNC machines, presses, compressors, extraction, welding sets and lighting all run while the sun is up. Every unit you generate and use on site is a unit you don’t buy at full price.
Once installed, the energy your panels generate isn’t exposed to future price rises.
From first call to aftercare
Initial call: we look at your bills and, ideally, half-hourly data. Desktop design: satellite imagery and mapping give us an initial layout and estimate, often before we visit.
Site survey: roof, structure, electrical supply, existing G99 approvals and access. Proposal: final design, expected generation, costs and timescale.
G99 application: we submit and track it, along with any planning application. Installation and commissioning: MCS-compliant, planned around your busy periods.
Remote monitoring, plus optional annual maintenance to MCS MIS3002.
Initial call: we look at your bills and, ideally, half-hourly data. Desktop design: satellite imagery and mapping give us an initial layout and estimate, often before we visit.
Site survey: roof, structure, electrical supply, existing G99 approvals and access. Proposal: final design, expected generation, costs and timescale.
G99 application: we submit and track it, along with any planning application. Installation and commissioning: MCS-compliant, planned around your busy periods.
Remote monitoring, plus optional annual maintenance to MCS MIS3002.
See our recent projects
Metals, tooling, cutlery and blade makers, fabrication, food producers and precision engineers in the Don Valley, Attercliffe, Tinsley, Templeborough and the Rother Valley. On shaded urban sites we use panel-level optimisers so one shaded corner doesn’t drag down the rest of the array. In Rotherham we did exactly that on a 69.16 kWp SolarEdge system for a local manufacturer.
Distribution and trade units along the M1 corridor and the Lower Don Valley. See warehouse and industrial solar for roof types and the checks we make. Schools use most of their power in the daytime during term, so we plan installs around the school calendar, often in the holidays.
Including on systems installed by other firms: inspection, fixing and re-certifying non-compliant systems, and ongoing maintenance.
Yes. We cover Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and the surrounding area from our base in Beverley, and we’ve installed a 69.16 kWp SolarEdge system for a manufacturer in Rotherham.
Northern Powergrid runs the local network across Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley. We handle the G99 application with them, which typically adds 8–12 weeks before installation.
Often, yes. Panel-level optimisers let each pair of panels work at its own best output, so shade on one part of the roof doesn’t pull down the rest. We assess shading at survey and design around it.
Typically about £17,000–£21,000 for 30 kWp, £28,000–£37,000 for 50 kWp and £50,000–£65,000 for 100 kWp, excluding VAT. Systems of 150 kWp and above are typically about £420–£650 per kWp. Book a free survey for an accurate quote.
Yes. We are CHAS accredited, which public bodies and main contractors often ask for, and we plan work around term times, opening hours and occupied buildings.
A 50–150 kWp roof typically takes about 1–2 weeks on site, after G99 approval. You’ll only lose power briefly for the final connection, and we can schedule that out of hours.
We work with businesses and organisations across:
These are areas we cover, not a list of past installs. We also cover commercial solar in Derby and Derbyshire.
A battery stores midday surplus for early starts, late shifts or the evening, instead of exporting it at a low rate. It can also help where the network operator limits your export, and on some tariffs it can trim short demand peaks. We size batteries from your half-hourly data, your tariff and your solar generation, and we’ll tell you if a battery doesn’t pay its way on your site. Commercial battery storage typically costs about £350–£450 per kWh installed, including the hybrid inverter. More detail: commercial battery storage.
Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley are on Northern Powergrid’s Yorkshire network, the same network operator as our home patch in Hull and East Yorkshire, and as Doncaster. Almost every commercial system needs G99 approval before installation. We prepare and submit the application with the technical details and single-line diagrams the DNO needs, and deal with any queries. Approval typically adds 8–12 weeks before installation, so we start it early.
If the DNO limits how much you can export, a G100 export limitation scheme or a battery means you still use what you generate on site. Already have G99 approval for an older system? Tell us at the start, because we can sometimes size the new inverter to fit within it. Read more: G99 applications explained.
Many rooftop systems on commercial buildings fall under permitted development, subject to conditions and size limits. Locally, the factors that can change that are:
We’ll check for your site and apply if it’s needed.
Indicative installed costs for commercial solar PV, by system size (ex VAT):
Commercial battery storage typically costs about £350–£450 per kWh installed, including the hybrid inverter. As a real example, a 42 kWh battery with a 20 kW hybrid inverter added to an existing system came to about £16,000.
Prices exclude VAT, which is charged at 20% on commercial installs. Simple roofs with good access sit at the lower end. Fibre-cement roofs, premium panels, scaffolding and safety systems such as rooflight protection or Man-Safe lifelines push the price up. Every quote sets out equipment, installation, scaffolding and DNO costs separately, so you can compare like for like.
Send us a recent electricity bill, your half-hourly data if you have it, and details of any existing G99 approval. We’ll come back with an initial view on system size and whether solar makes sense for your building.
Call 01482 765063 · info@brightedgesolar.com
BrightEdge Solar Ltd, Colonial House, Swinemoor Lane, Beverley HU17 0LS. MCS certified (NIC-601602). RECC member.