Grants and funding for commercial solar canopy

Funding your commercial solar canopy: what is open in 2026

This guide covers the routes that genuinely exist for a car park canopy in 2026, which of them have closed, how they combine, and what you need ready before you ask anyone for money.

Annual Investment Allowance — available to every UK business

The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is the most universally applicable funding mechanism for a commercial solar canopy. Solar PV and its supporting structure qualify as plant and machinery under HMRC's capital allowances rules. The 100% AIA deducts the full cost of qualifying investment from your taxable profits in the year of installation — a tax deferral that becomes a real cash saving if your business is profitable.

At the standard 25% corporation tax rate: a £300,000 canopy investment produces a £75,000 reduction in your corporation tax bill in year one, reducing the effective net cost to £225,000. The AIA annual limit is £1m per accounting period. Above £1m, a 50% First Year Allowance applies on the excess (subject to current Finance Act provisions). Companies with a year-end approaching should time their canopy signing around their accounting period to maximise the year-one benefit.

Common pitfall: the AIA applies to the year in which the asset comes into service (commissioning date), not the year in which you sign the contract or make stage payments. If commissioning slips into the next accounting year due to DNO delays or planning, the tax saving may be deferred 12 months. Track the commissioning date at the contract stage and flag any risk early.

Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) — closed to new applications

PSDS was the most significant funding route for public sector organisations, administered by Salix Finance on behalf of DESNZ. It closed to new applications in November 2024 and no further phase has been announced; the gov.uk collection page lists Phases 1 to 4 only and was last updated on 13 March 2025. Phase 4 allocations are still being delivered through to 2027-28, but only to bodies that bid before the window shut. It is also worth correcting the record on scope: the scheme was heat-led, so solar was fundable as an associated measure alongside replacing fossil-fuel heating in the same building rather than as a standalone canopy grant. Our PSDS solar canopy status page sets out the phases, the reason canopies rarely qualified, and what to do with a business case built on it. For how public bodies are funding canopies now, see public sector solar canopy funding.

Eligible organisations were NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts, local authorities, academy trusts and schools, Further and Higher Education institutions, emergency services, and other public bodies. PSDS Phase 4 is in delivery only until 2028 and there is no announced Phase 5. Because the application window has shut, the application process and typical grant rates are now of historic interest only; this site publishes no grant percentage because none can be quoted for a new bid.

Salix Finance — no general loan for English public bodies

The Salix loan that does not exist in England. A very common line in canopy proposals is that Salix will lend the balance interest-free, repaid from energy savings. Salix administered PSDS on behalf of DESNZ, which is not the same as operating a loan facility, and there is no equivalent general interest-free scheme for English public bodies. Public sector lending does exist in the devolved nations: Scotland through SEELS (interest-free), and Wales through the Wales Funding Programme, which lends at a fixed 2.45% (only its Invest to Save strand, for bodies without borrowing powers, is interest-free) and which Salix lists as open for applications alongside a £9 million Great British Energy allocation. If an English business case shows a 0% Salix loan covering the balance of a canopy, that line needs replacing rather than checking — see our Wales canopy guide for the devolved position.

OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme — £500 per EV socket

For any canopy project that includes EV charging infrastructure, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) provides a grant of £500 per charging socket, up to 40 sockets per applicant. On a canopy with 20 × 22 kW dual-socket units (40 sockets), the WCS grant is £20,000. Applications are made directly through the OZEV portal. The scheme is open to businesses, charities, and public sector bodies. Chargepoints must be OZPP-compliant and installed by an OZEV-authorised installer.

Smart Export Guarantee — ongoing revenue for surplus generation

SEG applies in Great Britain only; in Northern Ireland export is paid on each supplier's own terms. Every solar canopy in England, Scotland or Wales with grid export capability earns SEG payments from your electricity supplier for any generation that is not consumed on site. SEG is a mandatory export tariff, meaning every major licensed electricity supplier is legally required to offer a payment rate. Current rates in 2026 range from about 4p/kWh on the simplest flexible tariffs to about 12p/kWh on the better export deals. For a 300 kWp canopy on a site with 70% self-consumption, the remaining 30% (approximately 85,500 kWh/year) exported at 10p/kWh generates £8,550/year. Not transformational, but a welcome revenue line that persists for the life of the system with no capital input.

How funding routes stack

The most powerful funding combinations in 2026 are:

• AIA + OZEV WCS (any business): relief on the first £1m of qualifying plant, plus up to £20,000 per organisation via OZEV for EV chargepoints (£500 per socket, up to 40 sockets). PSDS, which used to be stacked with the WCS in the public sector, is closed to new applications.
• AIA + hire purchase (private sector): a hire purchase contract under which the business will or may become the owner keeps the capital allowances with the business (section 67 of the Capital Allowances Act 2001), so the relief and the monthly payments run side by side. Lease-type contracts are treated differently, so confirm the structure with your accountant before signing.

Funding by nation

Tax relief is UK-wide, but grants and public loans are devolved, so a canopy in Glasgow, Cardiff or Belfast starts from a different list. Each line below was checked on the scheme's own page on 3 November 2026.

Scotland

Business Energy Scotland's SME Loan still runs, but it states that it is not accepting new applications for solar PV projects, so it does not fund a canopy. Charities and other non-profit organisations that own or lease their building can look at the CARES Let's Do Net Zero Community Buildings Fund: up to £80,000 at 80% of eligible costs, solar PV a core measure, first come first served, final claims by 15 March 2027, but only where the building has or is installing low-carbon heating such as a heat pump. Public bodies have Salix's zero-interest Scottish Public Sector Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme and the Scotland Recycling Fund. The canopy-specific detail, including the 200 kW transmission check, is on our page on solar canopy funding in Scotland.

Wales

The Development Bank of Wales Green Business Loan Scheme names solar PV, with loans of £1,000 to £1.5m over up to 15 years (Senedd written answer WQ96151), for Welsh businesses trading two years or more. Public bodies have the Wales Funding Programme at a fixed 2.45%. Ynni Cymru's 2026/27 round closed on 21 May 2026 and the Ymestyn window closed on 6 February 2026. Our Wales guide covers what is open for a Welsh canopy and why the planning route is longer there.

Northern Ireland

Power NI's NISEP-funded grant for business solar PV (20%, capped at £30,000) has closed for applications for 2026/27; Power NI expects the next round to open in April 2027, subject to funding approval. NISEP has been extended to March 2029 with a break clause after March 2028. Confirm with Power NI that a car park canopy qualifies before counting on the next round. Invest NI's Energy Efficiency Capital Grant is paused and is not taking enquiries, and DAERA's Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme round 1 included no solar PV.

What you need to apply

For any funding application, you will need to provide: (a) 12 months of half-hourly electricity meter data (AMR data from your supplier), (b) site plan showing the car park area and proposed canopy footprint, (c) your Companies House number or registered charity/public body reference, (d) your latest signed accounts or management accounts, and (e) a carbon baseline calculation (prepared from your meter data). Public sector applicants additionally need a decarbonisation pathway statement and Responsible Accounting Officer sign-off.

Applications are made by the organisation being funded (OZEV applications through the OZEV portal). An installer or consultant can prepare the paperwork, but internal sign-off and procurement compliance stay with the applicant's procurement team.