The combination of solar canopy and EV charging infrastructure is one of the strongest business cases in commercial renewable energy right now. When designed properly, a solar canopy with integrated EV chargers generates electricity from the sun and delivers it directly to vehicles at minimal grid cost — creating a powerful loop that improves ROI for both technologies.
Why Solar + EV Is Better Than Either Alone
Solar canopy alone: Generates electricity 6-8 hours per day (daylight), some of which is consumed on-site, the rest exported at Smart Export Guarantee rates (8-15p/kWh). Export value is significantly lower than self-consumption value (22-28p/kWh avoided grid cost).
EV charging alone: Draws electricity from the grid at commercial rates. If you’re charging during peak hours (16:00-19:00), you’re paying ToU peak rates that can reach 45-60p/kWh on half-hourly settlement.
Solar canopy + EV charging: Solar generates electricity from 09:00-17:00 — exactly when business car parks are full of vehicles. EV charging during solar generation hours means each kWh is worth 22-28p (avoided import) rather than 8-15p (SEG export). This effectively doubles the economic value of daytime solar generation.
EV Charging Options for Solar Canopies
7 kW AC Type 2 (Slow / Destination Charging)
Best for: Employee cars parked 4-8 hours, visitor spaces at hotels, leisure, hospitals
Cost: £800-£1,500 per unit installed under canopy
Compatibility: Works with any EV. Adds approximately 35-40 miles of range per hour of charge.
Grid draw: 7 kW per active charger. A 20-charger installation draws max 140 kW — manageable alongside a 200 kWp solar canopy.
22 kW AC Type 2 (Fast Charging)
Best for: Fleet vehicles with faster AC charging capability, shared car parks with shorter dwell times
Cost: £2,000-£3,500 per unit installed
Compatibility: Requires vehicle to support 22 kW AC (not all vehicles do). Tesla Model 3/Y: 11 kW. Most Renault ZOE: 22 kW.
Grid draw: 22 kW per active charger. Canopy solar rarely fully covers 22 kW chargers in direct offset — but dramatically reduces net grid draw versus no solar.
50-150 kW DC Rapid (Fast / Ultra-Fast)
Best for: Fleet hubs, retail destinations, motorway-adjacent car parks, logistics
Cost: £18,000-£35,000 per unit installed
Compatibility: All modern EVs with DC charging port (CCS or CHAdeMO)
Grid draw: 50-150 kW per active charger. At this power level, solar canopy offsets are partial but still meaningful for energy cost and carbon reporting.
OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) Grant
The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) Workplace Charging Scheme provides:
- Up to £350 per socket (cap)
- Maximum 40 sockets per applicant
- Maximum grant value: £14,000 per application
The WCS grant applies to AC chargers (7 kW and 22 kW). DC rapid chargers do not qualify for WCS. The grant is available to UK businesses, charities, and public authorities.
Combining WCS with solar canopy grant: There is no rule preventing businesses from claiming WCS for EV chargers and also claiming Enhanced Capital Allowances or regional grants for the solar element. Both are legitimate and regularly combined.
LEVI Fund (Large EV Infrastructure)
For large-scale installations (50+ chargers), the OZEV Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund provides capital grants to local authorities and some private operators. This primarily targets public charging but some solar canopy + EV projects in publicly accessible car parks have successfully accessed LEVI funding.
Technical Integration: Solar and EV Charging
A well-designed solar canopy + EV system includes an energy management controller that:
- Monitors real-time solar generation
- Allocates generation to EV chargers first (avoiding grid import)
- Adjusts charger power dynamically (smart charging / V1G)
- Exports surplus at SEG if no EVs are charging
- Draws from grid only when solar is insufficient
This dynamic load management is the key differentiator between an integrated system and a simple side-by-side installation. Without it, you may charge EVs from the grid while exporting solar — wasting 10-20p/kWh of value.
Leading energy management platforms for this application: Indra Smart Pro, ev.energy, Zaptec, and OctopusEnergy’s own Charge Anytime platform for fleet use.
Case Study: Retail Park, 120 kWp + 16 x 7 kW Chargers
A retail park in the South Midlands installed a 120 kWp solar canopy with 16 x 7 kW AC chargers in Q4 2024. Smart energy management software was integrated from day one.
Results (first 8 months):
- Solar generation: 86,400 kWh (March-October)
- EV charging consumption: 31,200 kWh (36% of solar generation)
- Self-consumption via EV: 31,200 kWh at 23p = £7,176 value
- Export: 55,200 kWh at 11p (SEG) = £6,072
- Grid import displaced from EV chargers: £7,176 (vs £4,560 if exported at SEG)
- EV charger revenue (pay-per-use at 42p/kWh): £13,104
- Total annual income/saving from combined system: £54,600
- System cost (solar + chargers + energy management): £142,000
- Payback: 2.6 years
The EV charging revenue (from public users not entitled to free charging) was the unexpected value driver, generating £13,104 in the first 8 months purely from the 16 charge points.
Getting the Design Right
Combining solar and EV requires careful electrical design from the outset:
- The main distribution board must be sized for combined solar export and EV import load
- DNO application must declare both solar generation and EV charging load
- Cable routes need to be planned before steel erection — retrofitting cable management is expensive
- Earth bonding between solar steelwork and EV charger enclosures must meet BS 7671
Our in-house electrical design team handles all of this as a single coordinated project. We won’t sell you a solar canopy today and EV chargers 18 months later — the cost premium for designing them together is always justified.