Car parks are one asset the UK isn’t short of whether located in hospitals, shopping centres, schools, companies and manufacturing businesses.
France has already recognised their importance by mandating that car parks with over 80 spaces must be covered with solar carparks to help the country generate green energy.
Likewise, solar carports are a perfect solution for green energy production in the UK, slashing carbon emissions and electricity bills. But what funding sources are available to the different sectors?
Commercial businesses & manufacturing
Did you know that businesses are responsible for 18.7 per cent of carbon emissions while manufacturing and industry account for 12 per cent?
Payment up front or loans
If you have the cash to pay to install carports then this is the obvious solution as you will see a faster return on investment. The only disadvantage is that your total tax relief will be less than if you lease a solar carport.
As not every company has access to cash reserves, taking out a green loan is a common way to pay for a solar carport. There are various green loans available from most banks with a comprehensive list at British Business Banks, the development bank of the UK.
Leasing
Another way of financing solar carports is to lease them from a company over a fixed number of years at a set price every month or quarter.
There are different leasing models to suit your needs. Operating leases mean you make a regular rental payment but will not own the asset at the end of the contract.
With hire purchase you make regular payments and assume ownership at the end of the contract.
Finance leases see businesses assume ownership of a solar carport and take responsibility while renting and then take ownership when the contract ends.
Each model carries 100 per cent tax relief and your business will be liable to pay less corporation tax.
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
PPAs are agreements made between a solar carport company or investors who provide funding for the solar carport but who retain ownership and are responsible for maintenance.
The finance model means your business will have access to cheap energy produced by solar carports and the remainder is sold to the National Grid.
UK Prosperity Fund
This is the domestic replacement to the European Structural and Investment Fund and has been extended to 2026.
One of its targets is to support local businesses as well as communities and individuals to adopt energy-efficient and low carbon technologies like solar carports
As all applications have to go through local authorities, you will need to contact your borough or county and district councils to find out how much funding they have available via the UK Prosperity Fund.
Your council may also offer other grants to help businesses to transition to green energy, so it is worth keeping in touch with them on a regular basis.
Industrial Energy Transformation Fund
The IETF is aimed at manufacturing industries and has £500 million of funding available up to 2028.
Its target is to support the development and installation of technologies to help businesses with high energy use transition to green measures and slash carbon emissions.
For more information about the IETF and the application process, contact ietf@energysecurity.gov.uk
Hospitals & Healthcare
The NHS is the single largest public energy user in the UK with a spend nearing £1.5 billion and generating 25 million tonnes of carbon.
But with over 1,100 hospitals with huge car parks, they are an ideal location for solar carports so they can generate their own energy, slash bills and carbon and provide EV charging for patients, visitors and staff.
Great British Energy
The UK’s Great British Energy’s first big project saw an injection of £180 million into renewable energy for 200 hospitals alongside schools. Keep an eye out on their website for future projects coming on board.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund
Hospitals can also apply to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme which is managed on behalf of the UK government by Salix Finance.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme aims to slash emissions from public sector buildings by 75 per cent by 2037 compared to 2017 figures and has been running since 2020.
It supports organisations from their initial application to the time they complete their project to monitoring the results.
For more information about events and opportunities for funding for Phase 4 of the scheme, visit their website.
Councils & Metro Mayors
Councils can apply to the UK Prosperity Fund to support solar installations in council-owned buildings as well as the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
In addition, Great British Energy launched a £10 million partnership in 2025 with metro mayors to help build clean power in every part of the country.
Any profits from the scheme can be put back into the community or to help cut people’s energy bills.
Examples of projects being funded include Solar Together Consortium which plans to deliver 240 MW of solar capacity across the West Midlands and West Yorkshire’s solar and battery storage initiative in social housing to tackle fuel poverty.
Schools
According to the Carbon Trust, UK schools spend £543 million on electricity every year so installing solar carports could slash this bill significantly.
Solar carports allow schools to sell any excess electricity to the national grid allowing them to spend more money on their students.
Another major benefit is that children learn about solar energy using real time data especially if the solar carports have charging stations for staff and parents.
Great British Energy projects
The government has recognised the importance of solar energy with Great British Energy’s first project which saw £180 million shared between 200 schools and hospitals to install solar. There may be future projects so it’s worth checking their website regularly.
Grants for vehicle chargepoints
Currently, state funded schools can get 75 per cent off the cost of buying and installing electric vehicle chargepoint sockets on their sites as part of a current government scheme.
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme
Financing for solar carports can come via the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme when future projects are launched.
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) are agreements made with a solar carport company or a group of investors who retain ownership of the solar carports sited on a school.
Benefits include access to cheap green energy generated by the solar carports, cutting your carbon and zero ongoing maintenance costs.
Local Community/Cooperative Schemes
Instead of money coming from a solar company or a group of investors, the funding to buy a solar carport comes directly from the community.
Schools can choose to produce their own energy and sell any excess to the National Grid or the community group can sell the energy to schools at a cheaper price to help save on electricity bills.
Some schemes also see profits put towards more renewable energy measures at the same school or other schools nearby.
A great resource for schools to get involved is Let’s Go Zero 2030, a national campaign working with the government to ensure schools can reach their net zero targets by 2030.
