Solar panels for charities that cut bills and fund your mission
MCS-certified solar for UK charities and community buildings. We help you claim 0% VAT, stack the right grants, and fund a system with no money down where reserves are tight.
- MCS Certified
- NICEIC
- RECC
- TrustMark
- 0% VAT for charities
ACCREDITED FOR UK CHARITY & COMMERCIAL WORK
The numbers, before you even apply for a grant
The economics are unusually good for the third sector
For most UK charities, electricity is one of the few big costs you can cut without touching frontline services. After the 2021 energy crisis many charities watched their bills double, and a charity cannot pass that cost on the way a business can.
Solar turns your roof into a long-term hedge. You get 20 to 30 years of largely free daytime power, and a figure trustees can actually plan a budget around.
And the economics are kind to the third sector. Since April 2022, qualifying charity installs pay 0% VAT, and you can stack that with grants no commercial buyer can touch. Where money is tight, a PPA or community share offer can fund the whole thing with nothing down.
- 0% VAT on qualifying charity installations, a fifth off the price before any grant
- Grant-funding support: Lottery, Community Energy Fund, rural and trust funding mapped to your project
- Zero-upfront routes: Power Purchase Agreements and community share offers for charities without capital reserves
- Trustee-ready proposals: clear payback, restricted-funds awareness, and a governance pack your board can approve
What charity solar actually delivers
A clear path your trustees can sign off
No pressure and no jargon. A transparent process built around how charities actually make decisions.
- 01Day 1-7
Free feasibility
Send us your recent electricity bills and a photo or plan of the roof. We model the system and share an indicative proposal, with no site visit needed to start.
- 02Week 1-4
Funding & 0% VAT
We map the funding that fits, whether that is 0% VAT, grants, export income or a no-upfront PPA, and prepare a trustee-ready summary your board can approve.
- 03Month 1-3
Survey & paperwork
A short site survey confirms the design. We handle any planning, the DNO grid application, and the grant paperwork on your behalf.
- 04Month 2-4
Install & switch on
Most community buildings install in a few days to a couple of weeks, with minimal disruption to your activities. Then the savings start.
Specialists across the charity and community sector
Every kind of community building has a different roof, a different budget and a different route to funding. Find yours.
Most common Village Halls
5-15 kW. 8-year payback. £6,000-£18,000.
Community Centres
10-30 kW. 7-year payback. £12,000-£35,000.
Sports & Social Clubs
15-40 kW. 7-year payback. £18,000-£45,000.
Scout & Guide Huts
4-10 kW. 9-year payback. £5,000-£12,000.
Charity Shops & Retail
5-15 kW. 8-year payback. £6,000-£18,000.
Places of Worship
8-25 kW. 9-year payback. £10,000-£30,000.
Village hall halves its electricity bill with a grant-funded 9 kW system
An illustrative composite based on typical UK village-hall projects. A rural village hall run by a charitable management committee was paying around £2,900 a year for electricity to light and heat a building used for pre-school, fitness classes and weekend hire. A 9 kW rooftop system (22 panels) was funded with a National Lottery Community Fund grant plus reserves, with 0% VAT removing a fifth of the cost.
Why charities choose a specialist installer
| A charity specialist (us) Third-sector focused | Generalist installer General domestic / commercial | Going it alone Self-managed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCS certification (needed for SEG & grants) | Sometimes | ||
| Confirms & claims 0% VAT correctly | |||
| Maps charity grant & funding routes | |||
| Trustee-ready, board-friendly proposals | |||
| No-upfront PPA / community-funded options | Sometimes | ||
| Awareness of restricted funds & governance | |||
| Listed-building & conservation experience | Sometimes |
Most charities pay far less than the sticker price
Between the automatic 0% VAT saving, grants from bodies like the National Lottery Community Fund and the Community Energy Fund, Smart Export Guarantee income, and no-upfront Power Purchase Agreements, the real cost to your charity is usually a fraction of the headline figure.
Mapping the right combination is where most charity solar projects succeed or stall, and it is exactly where we spend our time.
- 0% VAT on qualifying charity installations
- Grant mapping: Lottery, Community Energy Fund, rural & trust funding
- Smart Export Guarantee income on electricity you export
- No-upfront PPA and community share-offer routes
Charity solar across the UK
We install for charities and community buildings nationwide. Pick a location for local funding routes and council net-zero context.
London
Greater London. Greater London Authority, 2030 net zero.
Birmingham
West Midlands. Birmingham City Council, 2030 net zero.
Leeds
West Yorkshire. Leeds City Council, 2030 net zero.
Manchester
Greater Manchester. Manchester City Council, 2038 net zero.
Bristol
Bristol. Bristol City Council, 2030 net zero.
Cardiff
South Glamorgan. Cardiff Council, 2030 net zero.
Common questions from charity trustees
The questions we hear most from trustees and community-building managers.
Can charities get solar panels for free?
Genuinely "free" solar usually means one of two things. The first is a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), where a funder pays for and owns the system and you simply buy the electricity it generates at a fixed price below the grid rate. There is no upfront cost, and the savings start from day one. The second is a fully grant-funded installation, where bodies such as the National Lottery Community Fund, the Community Energy Fund or a charitable trust cover the capital cost.
Be wary of consumer-style "free solar" adverts aimed at homeowners, because they rarely fit charities. For most charities the realistic position is a heavily discounted system: 0% VAT removes 20% of the cost automatically, and grants or a PPA can cover much or all of the rest.
Do charities pay VAT on solar panels?
In most cases, no. Since April 2022 the installation of solar panels is zero-rated for VAT in Great Britain where the building is used for a relevant charitable purpose (non-business use) or as relevant residential accommodation. That means qualifying charity installations attract 0% VAT, a fifth off the price before any grant is even considered.
The charity provides the installer with a simple VAT declaration confirming the qualifying use. Where a building has mixed charitable and business use, the relief is apportioned. We help you confirm eligibility and complete the paperwork correctly.
What grants are available for solar panels for charities?
The main routes are: the National Lottery Community Fund (community and voluntary organisations); the Community Energy Fund in England, delivered through regional Net Zero Hubs; Local Energy Scotland's CARES scheme in Scotland; rural community building funding via the ACRE network for village halls; and capital grants from charitable trusts and foundations such as the Garfield Weston and Bernard Sunley foundations. Sports clubs can also access Football Foundation and Sport England funding.
These can often be stacked with the automatic 0% VAT saving and Smart Export Guarantee income. The right combination depends on your cause, location and building. Mapping it correctly is the single biggest factor in getting a charity solar project funded, and it's where we spend most of our time.
How much do solar panels cost for a charity or community building?
Most community buildings need a 5-40 kW system. As a guide: a village hall or small charity premises typically needs 5-15 kW costing roughly £6,000-£18,000; a community centre 10-30 kW at £12,000-£35,000; a sports club 15-40 kW at £18,000-£45,000; and a hospice or larger charity HQ 30-100 kW from £35,000 upward. These figures already assume the 0% VAT charity rate.
What you actually pay depends on roof type, access, electrical works and whether you add battery storage. We give a fixed-price proposal after a free desk-based feasibility from your bills and roof plans, with no obligation.
What is the payback period on charity solar panels?
For community buildings, simple payback is typically 6-9 years, after which the electricity is effectively free for the remaining 15-20+ years of the system's life. Buildings with steady daytime use, such as community centres, charity shops, animal rescue centres and hospices, sit at the shorter end because they use more of what they generate. Buildings used mainly in evenings and at weekends, such as village halls and scout huts, sit slightly longer but benefit more from Smart Export Guarantee income and battery storage.
Grant funding shortens payback dramatically, and a PPA removes the upfront cost entirely in exchange for lower but immediate savings.
We're trustees: what do we need to consider before approving a solar project?
Trustees should be satisfied on four points: that the project is in the charity's interests and consistent with its objects; that it is properly funded (and that any restricted funds are used appropriately); that the building and any lease permit the works for the system's full life; and that the risks of roof condition, planning and maintenance have all been assessed.
We prepare proposals with exactly this in mind: a clear payback case, a note on funding routes including 0% VAT, confirmation of roof suitability, and a plain-English summary your board can minute. Charity Commission guidance on managing charity property and reserves is the relevant backdrop, and we're happy to present to a trustee meeting.