Put in charge of solar for your school? Start here

You have been asked to “look into solar”

It usually arrives as one line in a governors’ meeting or an email from the head: could you look into solar panels? Most business managers, bursars and estates leads who get that job have never bought a solar array, and the internet is full of advice written for homes, offices and funding schemes that have closed. This checklist is the first month, in order.

Week 1: get the data

• Twelve months of half-hourly electricity data, including at least one holiday period, from your supplier, broker or meter operator. A school uses most of its power in term-time weekdays, and the holiday dip is what decides whether a battery is worth having.
• Your current unit price and contract end date. For context, the DESNZ average non-domestic price in the first quarter of 2026 was 24.14p per kWh including Climate Change Levy.
• The supply — single-phase or three-phase, and the fuse rating. Many older primaries are single-phase, which limits how much solar can connect without an upgrade.

Week 2: the roofs

• The latest condition survey for every roof you might use, and any roof warranties still running. Panels stay for 25 years or more, so a roof near the end of its life should be replaced first.
• The asbestos register for any building put up before 2000.
• Whether any building is listed or in a conservation area. In England, rooftop panels on a non-listed school are usually permitted development under Class J — see planning permission for school solar panels.

Week 3: who decides, and who consents

• Maintained school: the local authority owns the building and controls most capital, so involve its estates team early.
• Academy: the trust board decides, and a solar lease or power purchase agreement needs Secretary of State consent, using the DfE’s Form E and, from 15 July 2026, its PPA and land-lease templates.
• Voluntary aided school: the diocese is a party to material works on the building.
• Independent school: governors or the finance committee, usually from reserves.

Week 4: funding, then proposals

Settle how the school would pay before you invite proposals, because it changes what you ask for. In England there is no open grant or loan for solar on its own: the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme closed in November 2024, there is no Salix loan for English schools, and Great British Energy selects the schools it funds. The routes that work are capital, a Condition Improvement Fund bid where solar rides on genuine roof or heating work (for eligible schools), or a power purchase agreement. Our guide to solar panels for schools grants sets out each one.

What to ask every installer

1. Is the proposal sized from our half-hourly data, including a holiday period — and what share of generation do you expect us to use on site?
2. What is the installed cost per kW, and what does it exclude: scaffolding, asbestos work, a supply upgrade, the G99 application?
3. Which operatives will be on site, what DBS checks do they hold, and how will they be supervised? Under KCSIE 2026, contractors in regulated activity need an enhanced DBS check with the children’s barred list.
4. Can we see your MCS certificate and any NICEIC, RECC or TrustMark membership on those bodies’ own websites?
5. Who backs the workmanship warranty, for how long, and what happens to it if you cease trading?
6. When will you submit the G99 application, and how long does our network operator usually take?

Get at least two proposals, compare them against the school solar cost guide, and take the one whose numbers you can explain to governors.