The scheduled rise in business rates on companies owning solar installations on their properties has been raised in the House of Commons, with shadow energy minister Barry Gardiner accusing the government of “sleeping on the job”.
The economic viability of commercial rooftop solar installations could be severely damaged next year under plans to increase business rates taxes by up to eight times the current levels following a re-evaluation of how these assets are valued.
EvoEnergy has completed what it has called one of the highest solar installations in the UK after fitting a 26kWp system on top of the redeveloped South Bank Tower, which stands 42 storeys high.
The UK solar market must “unlock” deployment on commercial buildings if the technology is to continue its cost-reduction path to a subsidy-free future, the Renewable Energy Association (REA) has claimed.
Large-scale commercial rooftops have continued to deploy impressively under the new feed-in tariff regime despite a 10% degression occuring after the previous cap was breached.
Lark Energy managing director Jonathan Selwyn has said there is “absolutely no doubt” that the commercial solar market will continue despite restrictive cuts to the feed-in tariff and other subsidy schemes.
Solar installer EvoEnergy has landed a contract to fit a 3.8MW rooftop PV installation, a project which it claims will be one of the five largest rooftop arrays in the country.
