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Report shows commercial rooftop solar could deliver 60GW of UK generation - Solar Power Portal
Published 12 September 2026 · Source: Google News
Report shows commercial rooftop solar could deliver 60GW of UK generation Solar Power Portal
A new report has found that commercial rooftop solar installations across the UK could deliver as much as 60GW of generation capacity, underlining the scale of untapped potential sitting on the roofs of warehouses, factories, retail parks and office buildings nationwide. The findings, published by Solar Power Portal, add fresh weight to calls for policymakers and businesses to accelerate deployment of rooftop solar as a cost-effective route to boosting domestic clean power generation.
The 60GW figure is a striking one when set against the UK's current solar capacity, which stands at a fraction of that total. It suggests that commercial rooftops alone, if fully utilised, could make a substantial contribution to the government's ambitions for a decarbonised power system. Large flat-roofed commercial buildings are widely regarded as prime candidates for solar deployment because they typically offer significant unshaded surface area, existing grid connections through commercial supplies, and daytime electricity demand profiles that align well with solar generation patterns.
The report arrives at a time when the UK's solar sector is under growing scrutiny over how quickly it can scale up to meet net zero targets. Ground-mounted solar farms have faced planning objections and concerns over land use in recent years, making rooftop solar an increasingly attractive alternative that avoids some of the controversies associated with utility-scale projects on agricultural land. Commercial rooftop schemes can also be deployed more quickly in many cases, since they do not require the same lengthy grid connection queues that have become a major bottleneck for larger renewable projects across the country.
For businesses, the case for rooftop solar is increasingly financial as well as environmental. Rising and volatile energy costs in recent years have pushed many commercial operators to look at on-site generation as a way of insulating themselves from wholesale price swings while also supporting corporate sustainability commitments. Warehousing and logistics firms, supermarkets and manufacturers have all shown growing interest in installing panels on their premises, though uptake has historically been constrained by upfront capital costs, leasing arrangements between landlords and tenants, and uncertainty over support mechanisms.
Unlocking anything close to the 60GW potential identified in the report would likely require a combination of policy support, streamlined permitting, and financing models that make it easier for businesses to invest in rooftop installations without bearing the full capital burden themselves. Industry figures have long argued that rooftop solar remains one of the most underused assets in the UK's renewable energy toolkit, particularly compared with other European markets where commercial solar deployment is more advanced.
As the UK works towards its wider clean power targets, findings such as these are likely to intensify pressure on government to introduce measures specifically aimed at commercial and industrial rooftop solar, rather than relying primarily on large-scale ground-mounted projects to deliver the bulk of new renewable capacity.