Solar finance guides
Straight answers on funding commercial solar — the routes, the tax, the costs and the questions finance directors actually ask. 47 guides and counting.
Start with the route you are weighing
The guides below explain how solar asset finance works for a UK business: solar hire purchase, the finance lease and the operating lease, solar equipment finance, and solar sale and leaseback for a system you already own. If you are already in a commercial solar lease, start with how to exit it.
Three guides explain who claims what: hire purchase, finance lease and operating lease compared on tax, VAT and the balance sheet, long funding leases and solar allowances, and VAT and balloon payments on hire purchase. To run the numbers, use the hire purchase, lease and loan calculator or the solar finance calculator.
By sector
Financing solar, battery and EV charging together
How to finance solar PV, battery storage and EV charging as one project — better economics, a single facility and the right structure.
Read guide →Solar finance for SMEs under £100k
How smaller UK businesses finance solar under £100k — equipment loans, hire purchase, Growth Guarantee backing, and matching the term to the saving.
Read guide →Agricultural solar finance: a farm guide
How farms finance solar in 2026 — barn roofs, hire purchase to keep the allowances, and sale-and-leaseback to fund diversification.
Read guide →Finance basics
Hire Purchase vs Finance Lease vs Operating Lease: Solar
Hire purchase, finance lease, operating lease and loan for commercial solar compared on who claims the allowances, VAT timing, the balance sheet and what you own at the end.
Read guide →Business Electricity Rates UK 2026: What Solar Can Avoid
What UK businesses pay per kWh for electricity in 2026, why the headline average overstates what solar saves, and how to value your own avoided unit price.
Read guide →Personal Guarantees and Security on Solar Finance (UK Guide)
What security and personal guarantees a lender can ask for on commercial solar finance, what the Growth Guarantee Scheme rules out, and what to ask for in writing.
Read guide →Who Finances Commercial Solar in the UK? (And How to Check)
The kinds of funder behind commercial solar in the UK, what each typically offers, and how to check a funder before you sign: register, membership and terms.
Read guide →Solar Finance Monthly Payments: Repayment Table (UK, 2026)
What commercial solar finance costs per month: repayments by system size, term and APR, the total cost of credit, and what the table leaves out.
Read guide →Solar Cost per kWh: How to Work It Out (UK Business, 2026)
What commercial solar costs per kWh in the UK: the method, a worked example across four locations, cash against finance, and how it compares with grid prices.
Read guide →Why a domestic 0% solar deal doesn't work for a business
Consumer solar finance and commercial asset finance are different products. What changes when the borrower is a company: assessment, tax, VAT, and what 0% really means.
Read guide →What lenders look for in a solar finance application
What UK asset-finance lenders assess when funding commercial solar — accounts, covenant and project cash flows — and how to present a strong case.
Read guide →Solar finance for a new or weak-covenant business
How younger or thinner-covenant businesses can still finance solar — the Growth Guarantee Scheme, unsecured equipment loans, and what lenders weigh.
Read guide →Solar finance rates explained: what drives the cost
Solar finance rates explained: Bank Rate 4% from 5 Nov 2026, what drives a quote, and £100,000 repayments at 6%, 8.5% and 11% over 3, 5 and 7 years.
Read guide →0% and no-deposit solar finance: the truth
The reality of 0% and no-deposit solar finance for businesses — where the cost really sits, and what makes financed solar pay for itself.
Read guide →Is it better to finance or buy solar with cash?
Is it better to finance or buy solar with cash? Cash gives the lowest lifetime cost; financing keeps capital working. When each route wins, modelled.
Read guide →Is it worth getting solar panels on finance?
Is it worth getting solar panels on finance? For most commercial sites, yes — when the saving beats the repayment, with the tax relief kept.
Read guide →Can You Finance Solar Panels? (UK Business Guide)
Yes. UK businesses can finance commercial solar through hire purchase, lease, loan or refinance. Routes, who qualifies and how approval works.
Read guide →How to finance commercial solar: step by step
A step-by-step guide to financing a commercial solar project — from modelling the system to drawdown on commissioning.
Read guide →Grants & funding
Does a grant reduce the capital allowances on solar panels?
Yes — the part of a solar project a public grant pays for does not qualify for capital allowances. How the rule works, a worked example, and what it means for finance.
Read guide →Public-sector solar finance: Salix and beyond
How UK public bodies fund solar in 2026 — what Salix does and does not offer, why PSDS has closed, and PPAs and leasing where capital is constrained.
Read guide →Funding for solar panels in Scotland
Funding for commercial solar in Scotland in 2026: what is open and closed, why the SME Loan does not cover solar PV, the rates exclusion, allowances, and asset finance for the balance.
Read guide →Smart Export Guarantee for business solar
How the Smart Export Guarantee works for commercial solar — who keeps the export income, typical rates, and why ownership matters.
Read guide →Funding for solar panels: UK business options 2026
Funding for solar panels for UK business: the real options — capital allowances, the export tariff, regional grants and asset finance — and how they stack.
Read guide →Grants and funding
Leasing
Solar panel lease for business UK: lease to own, cost, terms
A solar panel lease for a business is a rental or lease to own (usually hire purchase). Monthly payments by system size, who owns it, allowances and VAT.
Read guide →Solar Lease Agreement: 12 Clauses to Check Before You Sign
What a commercial solar lease agreement should say: 12 clauses on term, title, landlord consent, insurance, termination and tax to check before you sign.
Read guide →Is it worth buying out a solar lease?
Is it worth buying out a solar lease? When the buy-out price beats your remaining rentals, ownership wins — here is how to run the numbers.
Read guide →How much does a solar panel lease cost?
How much a solar panel lease costs in 2026: how monthly rentals are priced, the test that matters, and how leasing compares with owning.
Read guide →How to get out of a solar panel lease UK
How to get out of a solar panel lease in the UK: the settlement figure explained, what each exit route costs, the step-by-step process, and commercial leases vs rent-a-roof.
Read guide →Finance lease vs operating lease for solar
Finance lease vs operating lease for commercial solar: balance sheet, capital allowances, VAT and the 2026 FRS 102 change explained for UK FDs.
Read guide →How a commercial solar lease works: finance vs operating
How a solar panel lease works for UK business: who owns the system, finance vs operating lease, the tax, and your end-of-term options.
Read guide →Ownership
How much capital can you release from a solar system?
What decides how much cash a business can release from a solar system it already owns — valuation, outstanding finance, tax — and how to prepare before you ask.
Read guide →Solar sale-and-leaseback: releasing capital
How solar sale-and-leaseback and refinance release the capital tied up in a system you already own — plus the tax points to watch.
Read guide →Hire purchase vs finance lease: the difference explained
Hire purchase vs finance lease: who owns the asset, who claims capital allowances, how VAT is timed, and which route suits your business.
Read guide →Solar equipment loans for business explained
How a commercial solar equipment loan works — ownership from day one, full capital allowances, unsecured options and Growth Guarantee backing.
Read guide →PPA
Commercial solar PPA: pros and cons
Honest pros and cons of a commercial solar PPA — zero capex versus lost ownership, capital allowances and export income — and when a PPA is the right call.
Read guide →Solar PPA vs buying: which wins over 25 years
Solar PPA vs buying: a PPA needs no capital but the funder keeps the allowances and export income. Over 25 years, owning the system usually wins.
Read guide →What is a solar PPA and how does it work?
A plain-English guide to the solar Power Purchase Agreement: how it works, who owns the system, and how it compares with owning via finance.
Read guide →Tax & accounting
Solar Hire Purchase: VAT and Balloon Payments Explained
How VAT works on commercial solar hire purchase, what a balloon payment does to the monthly cost, and when an optional final payment changes the VAT treatment.
Read guide →Long Funding Lease Solar: Who Claims the Allowances
How HMRC's long funding lease rules decide whether you or the funder claims capital allowances on a leased commercial solar system: the tests, the 7-year line and the checks.
Read guide →Does a solar PPA go on your balance sheet?
A power purchase agreement can contain a lease for accounting purposes — and under revised FRS 102 most leases are on balance sheet from January 2026. What to check.
Read guide →Balance-sheet treatment of financed solar
How financed solar appears on your balance sheet — hire purchase, loans and leases — and how the 2026 FRS 102 change affects it.
Read guide →Can I claim solar panels as a business expense?
Can you claim solar panels as a business expense? Not as revenue — it is capital, claimed via capital allowances (AIA 100% up to £1m, 50% FYA above).
Read guide →FRS 102 lease changes 2026: what FDs need to know
The revised FRS 102 lease rules from January 2026 bring most leases on balance sheet. What it means for financing commercial solar.
Read guide →Is there VAT on commercial solar panels? (2026 guide)
Yes — commercial solar is standard-rated, but VAT-registered businesses reclaim it. The 0% rate covers homes and charity buildings only, to 31 March 2027.
Read guide →Does solar qualify for full expensing? Why it doesn’t
No — solar PV is special-rate expenditure, so full expensing does not apply. It gets the AIA at 100% up to £1m plus the 50% FYA above that.
Read guide →Solar capital allowances 2026: AIA vs 50% FYA
How capital allowances on commercial solar work in 2026 — the AIA at 100%, the 50% first-year allowance, and why solar is special-rate.
Read guide →