Solar Panels for Schools and Academies

Why solar works for schools

• Daytime demand. Lighting, IT, kitchens and ventilation all run while the sun is up, so a well-sized system is mostly used on site.
• Roof space. Teaching blocks, sports halls and modular buildings often have plenty of usable roof.
• Budget certainty. Every unit you generate is one you don’t buy, whatever happens to energy prices.
• Holidays aren’t wasted. Summer generation can be exported for Smart Export Guarantee payments, or stored in a battery if the site is used for holiday clubs and lettings.
• Learning. A monitoring screen in reception or the science block gives pupils live data to work with.

The government has reported that secondary schools in its programme that installed solar and upgraded to LED lighting are saving around £58,600 a year, and primaries around £21,000. Your own figures will depend on your roof and your use, so we model them from your bills.

Grants and funding for school solar

Funding for schools has changed a lot. Here’s the honest picture for schools in England. Great British Energy Solar Partnership. Great British Energy and the government have funded rooftop solar on hundreds of schools and colleges, starting with areas of higher deprivation. Government chooses the schools, so there’s no open application. If your school has been approached, we’re happy to talk through what it means for your site. Department for Education PPA pilot. DfE is piloting privately funded solar for up to 150 schools and colleges in Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands and the South East. A provider funds, installs, owns and maintains the panels at no upfront cost, and the school buys the electricity at an agreed rate, usually below grid prices. DfE selects pilot schools and contacts them directly, and it hopes to open this route to all schools from the 2027 to 2028 financial year. PPAs outside the pilot. DfE now requires PPAs on the school estate to use its own PPA and land lease templates, and it won’t approve PPAs where the roof is in poor condition. Check the current DfE guidance, or ask us and we’ll point you to it, before you sign anything. Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). CIF is an annual bidding round for eligible academies, sixth form colleges and voluntary aided schools. It pays for condition work, such as roofs and heating, rather than solar on its own. If your roof is being replaced through CIF, that’s the ideal moment to plan solar alongside it. Your own capital. Many schools and trusts fund solar from capital budgets or reserves, often phased across a trust’s estate. Buying outright usually gives the best long-term return. Community energy. Some community energy groups fund and own panels on school roofs and sell the power back at a lower rate. Registered charities and community benefit societies can also apply to Great British Energy’s Community Fund for community-owned projects. Closed: the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. Phase 4 was the final phase, and it only funded solar alongside new low-carbon heating. Church schools may also be able to tap diocesan support. See solar panels for churches, and our solar panel grants hub for every sector.

We run your grant application with you

Grant forms take time most organisations don’t have, so we take on the heavy lifting. We run the grant application with you and do the legwork: technical details, quotes, generation forecasts and paperwork. We’ll check which funds you’re eligible for, gather the evidence funders ask for and keep the application moving, with figures ready for governors and trust boards. If the grant pays in stages, we’ll work to that schedule.

Typical costs and payback

System size	Typical installed cost (ex VAT)
30 kWp	about £17,000–£21,000
50 kWp	about £28,000–£37,000
100 kWp	about £50,000–£65,000

Battery storage typically costs about £350–£450 per kWh installed, including the hybrid inverter. Flat roofs that need ballasted mounting, long cable runs and access equipment add to the price. Payback depends on how much generation you use in term time and what you pay per unit, and we’ll show you the figures in your proposal.

How we deliver it

1. Free desktop design from your bills, half-hourly data and roof plans.
2. Site survey: roof condition and warranties, structure, shading, the incoming supply and plant-room space.
3. Proposal: system design, expected generation and an itemised quote, ready for governors, trustees or the trust board.
4. G99 application to the network operator, usually Northern Powergrid in Yorkshire. We submit and track it.
5. Installation planned for holidays or out of hours where possible, with safe, separated working areas and contractor checks your site team can sign off.
6. MCS handover: MCS certificate, handover pack and monitoring set-up, with ongoing servicing and maintenance available.

We’re used to working on occupied sites and alongside main contractors on new buildings, so we know how to fit around a live programme.

Accreditations

• CHAS Elite accredited for health and safety, which schools, trusts and main contractors often require.
• MCS certified (NIC-601602) and a RECC member.
• NICEIC accredited.
• 24-month insurance-backed workmanship warranty.

See our certifications, our office and public sector solar page and our main commercial solar service.

Related case studies

We haven’t published a school project yet. These show how we work on occupied and new-build public and commercial sites:

• 47.08 kWp on a new-build care home in Clifton, York: a ballasted flat-roof system fitted while the main build was still running, with no roof strengthening.
• Grant-funded solar for Hessle Sporting Club: 21.6 kWp on a community building, funded by the FA (the Football Association) and paid for in stages.
• 300.06 kWp across an occupied industrial estate in Peterborough.

We cover schools across Hull and East Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire, Doncaster and South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and beyond.