Commercial and farm solar, batteries and EV charging

The common factor is daytime load. If your electricity demand peaks between nine and five, solar in Northern Ireland works harder for you than it does for any household.

Dairy and livestock farms. Milking, plate cooling, vacuum pumps and refrigeration run through the middle of the day. Shed roofs are large, unshaded and structurally simple. A 50 kWp array on a dairy is a dependable investment.

Poultry and grain. Ventilation and drying loads are large and run in daylight. Multiple sheds allow phased installation, spreading capital cost across financial years while building generation.

Light industrial and warehousing. Compressors, extraction, lighting and process loads. Flat and shallow-pitch roofs suit ballasted or mechanically fixed mounting, subject to a structural loading assessment we carry out before design.

Retail, hospitality and offices. Air conditioning and refrigeration peak when generation does. Fleet and customer EV charging can be added to the same connection.

We fit smart chargepoints for fleet vans, staff and customer parking, on the same connection as your solar and battery. Solar-aware chargers put surplus generation into the vehicles instead of exporting it, and load management keeps charging within your supply capacity.

Three-phase 22 kW charging is possible where the site has a three-phase supply. Where you want several chargers on a constrained supply, we make the application to NIE Networks for extra capacity. Businesses can claim through the Workplace Charging Scheme, worth up to £500 per socket across up to 40 sockets. More about EV chargers

Usually more so than domestic. Businesses consume most of their electricity during daylight hours, which means self-consumption rates of 80–95% rather than the 35–50% a household typically achieves without a battery. With commercial import rates and Annual Investment Allowance relief, payback of four to seven years is common.

Cost per kWp falls sharply with scale. A 30 kWp farm shed array typically lands around £700–£900 per kWp installed, and a 200 kWp commercial roof around £550–£750 per kWp. Ballasted flat-roof systems and roofs needing structural strengthening sit at the higher end.

Almost certainly. Anything above 3.68 kW per phase requires a G99 application to NIE Networks and approval before connection. Larger systems may also need an export limitation device or a network reinforcement contribution. We scope this at the feasibility stage so it does not derail the programme.

Yes, and they are often the best sites in Northern Ireland. They have large unshaded spans, simple access and daytime loads from milking parlours, refrigeration, grain drying and ventilation. Fibre cement sheet roofs need a structural check and appropriate non-penetrating fixings, both of which we assess at survey.

In most cases commercial solar qualifies for the Annual Investment Allowance, allowing the full capital cost to be set against taxable profits in the year of expenditure. Treatment depends on your circumstances, so confirm the position with your accountant before you order.