Solar PV for UK schools, academies & MATs
Solar panels for schools — 100% PSDS-funded, term-time aware
MCS-certified solar PV install for UK schools, academies and multi-academy trusts. We handle Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF) and Great British Energy Solar for Schools applications end-to-end. STEM dashboards in every classroom, install scheduled around term breaks to keep your school running.
School solar — quick reference
What every school energy lead needs to know
Up to 100%
PSDS capital funding
Salix-administered, Phase 4 to 2028
£25-170k
Typical school install cost
before grant (primary to secondary)
30-200 kWp
Typical system size
sized to peak term-time load
60-80%
Self-consumption (term-time)
shoulder weeks slightly lower
Term-time aware
Install scheduling
summer / Easter / half-term
25 yrs
Panel performance warranty
10-yr workmanship from AMP
School solar cost
Solar PV cost by school size & roof type
School solar cost depends on three things: system size in kWp (driven by your peak term-time load), roof type (flat ballasted vs pitched penetration), and supplementary work (electrical upgrades, roof refurbishment). For a typical UK school the per-kWp installed cost ranges from £850 (large flat-roof secondaries) to £1,100 (smaller pitched-roof primaries). PSDS Phase 4 grants commonly cover 100% of the capital ask for shortlisted applications.
| School type | Typical pupils | System size | Cost (before grant) | Annual yield (kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small primary | 100-200 | 30-50 kWp | £25,000-£42,000 | 25-45,000 |
| Large primary | 300-500 | 50-80 kWp | £42,000-£68,000 | 45-72,000 |
| Small secondary | 600-900 | 80-150 kWp | £68,000-£127,000 | 72-135,000 |
| Large secondary / academy | 1,000-1,800 | 150-300 kWp | £127,000-£255,000 | 135-270,000 |
| FE college / sixth form | 1,500-3,000 | 200-500 kWp | £170,000-£425,000 | 180-450,000 |
Costs include MCS install, scaffolding, DNO notification, monitoring, MID-certified export metering and 10-yr workmanship guarantee. PSDS Phase 4 commonly covers 100% capital. UK-average school yields shown — North East yields typically 870-945 kWh/kWp/yr (higher at elevation, e.g. Consett).
Great British Energy
Great British Energy Solar for Schools (live 2025)
Great British Energy Solar for Schools is a DESNZ programme launched in 2025, delivering rooftop solar to state-funded primary and secondary schools across England. The scheme prioritises schools in the most disadvantaged 30% of areas by Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) — though Phase 2 onwards is expanding to all state-funded schools.
The scheme operates through local authority and MAT delivery routes. AMP is an MCS-certified installer eligible to deliver under the programme. We handle the GBE application alongside any complementary PSDS (capital) or LCSF (feasibility) work, sequencing the funding stack to maximise total capital recovery.
100%
Capital funded
for qualifying schools
IMD 1-3
Priority bands
most disadvantaged 30%
All schools
From Phase 2
state-funded universal access
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme
PSDS Phase 4 — the main funding route
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) is the largest single source of heat-decarbonisation funding in the UK public estate. Salix-administered on behalf of DESNZ. Phase 4 covers 2025-2028 with £1.17 billion across the window. School and academy applications are a major proportion of awards to date.
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1. Initial feasibility — LCSF route
We work with your estates / business manager team to scope the heat-loss situation, identify low-hanging fabric improvements, and design a solar PV + heat pump package. The upfront feasibility work is typically funded under LCSF (see below) at 40% intervention rate.
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2. Salix Expression of Interest
You submit an Expression of Interest to Salix via the PSDS application portal. We provide all the technical inputs — kWp sizing, expected generation, half-hourly load match, carbon savings, payback model.
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3. Full application
If shortlisted, the full application goes in with detailed energy modelling, total project cost, projected payback, and carbon-savings-per-pound — the metric Salix scores heavily on.
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4. Award + contracting
Successful awards confirmed within the financial year window. Contracts signed under public procurement rules (PCR 2015 / Procurement Act 2023 transition). AMP can quote via your existing framework (NEPO, YPO, Crown Commercial Service).
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5. Install with minimum disruption
Install scheduled around term breaks (summer / Easter / half-term). Multi-school MAT programmes can be sequenced across multiple holiday windows over 2-3 years.
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6. Salix monitoring & verification
PSDS-funded projects require post-install monitoring (MV) reporting. AMP provides 12 months of monthly generation reports + a verified end-of-year carbon-savings statement to Salix on your behalf.
Typical PSDS school project size: £150-500k for a single primary or secondary. Larger MAT-wide programmes commonly run £1-5m. Solar PV is fundable where it accompanies a primary heat-decarbonisation measure (heat pump retrofit) and offsets the additional electrical load.
Low Carbon Skills Fund
LCSF — funds your feasibility & design work
The Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF) funds the upfront consultancy work that precedes a PSDS capital bid — feasibility studies, decarbonisation pathway plans, heat-loss surveys, BMS reviews. Up to 100% of qualifying consultancy cost for state-funded education providers. Salix-administered.
AMP routinely partners with schools on LCSF feasibility before the main PSDS capital ask goes in. Funding the feasibility work separately strengthens the eventual capital application (better data, more credible projections) without using your operational budget.
What LCSF typically covers for a school
- • Building-by-building energy audit + heat-loss model
- • Solar PV feasibility (roof structural, irradiance, half-hourly match)
- • Heat pump scoping (emitter sizing, plant room, flow temperatures)
- • Fabric improvement scoping (loft / cavity / glazing)
- • Cost-benefit analysis ranking measures by carbon-per-pound
- • Decarbonisation pathway plan to MAT / trust net-zero target
Other routes
Other school solar funding routes
CIF (Condition Improvement Fund)
Academy-specific. DfE's Condition Improvement Fund covers urgent estate condition work and can include energy-efficiency measures (solar PV qualifying where it addresses energy bill pressure). Annual allocation cycle, January-March windows.
SCA (School Condition Allocation)
Allocated to LA-maintained schools and MATs with 5+ schools. Used for fabric condition work — solar PV is fundable where it forms part of a broader roof refurbishment or energy efficiency package.
PPA / Power Purchase Agreement
For schools that can't access grant funding (e.g. independents, sixth-form colleges with restricted capital), a PPA delivers solar at zero up-front cost. Provider owns the array and sells the electricity to the school at a fixed below-grid rate over 20-25 years. AMP works with three PPA partners.
Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)
Schools that generate more than they consume (typical in summer holidays) can sell exported solar to the grid under SEG. State schools usually use export revenue to offset the energy bill; academies can recycle it across the trust portfolio.
Install process
Install process for a live school site
School install scheduling has to work around term dates, safeguarding, examination periods, and DfE-aligned site protocols. AMP runs every school install to a defined schema:
- 1.Pre-mobilisation (term-time, no on-site presence): DNO G99 notification to Northern Powergrid, scaffold permit, MCS pre-install paperwork, safeguarding DBS check on all engineers.
- 2.Holiday week 1 (mobilisation + scaffold): Site setup, scaffold erection, welfare facilities, perimeter Heras fencing. Roof condition pre-survey. DSEAR + RAMS issued to school estates lead.
- 3.Holiday weeks 2-4 (main install): Panel mounting, electrical install, inverter commissioning, monitoring setup. Indoor work in plant room only — classrooms untouched.
- 4.Holiday week 5 (commissioning): System commissioning to G99, MCS sign-off, Building Control notification, monitoring dashboard live.
- 5.Holiday week 6 (handover): Scaffold strike, site cleardown, walkthrough with estates lead, staff training session on the monitoring dashboard. Ready for term opening.
- 6.Post-install (term-time): 12 months of monthly generation reports to estates lead. Annual carbon-savings statement to MAT or LA. STEM curriculum content delivered to head of science / sustainability lead.
STEM curriculum
Live solar dashboard for the STEM curriculum
Every AMP school install includes a real-time generation dashboard. Displays can be wall-mounted in reception, projected in assemblies, or accessed via a free school-specific URL on staff and student devices.
KS2 (ages 7-11)
Curriculum-aligned worksheets on electricity, renewable energy and weather effects on generation. Real-time data linked to weather observations.
KS3 (ages 11-14)
Energy transfer, climate change, sustainability assessment. School-specific kWh / CO₂ data plugged into geography + science modules.
KS4 + KS5 (ages 14-18)
A-level Geography (Energy & Climate), GCSE Physics (Energy), BTEC Engineering. Downloadable historic data for student investigations and EPQ projects.
Multi-academy trusts
Trust-wide decarbonisation framework
Multi-academy trusts running 5-30 schools across the UK face a common challenge: each school is different, but the trust wants standard contracting, unified reporting and one accountable relationship rather than a dozen separate installer relationships.
AMP works to a trust framework: single MAT-level master agreement, per-school site surveys, consistent equipment specification, unified annual generation and carbon reporting. We can scope the entire portfolio against your trust net-zero commitment, prioritise sites by ROI and PSDS-eligibility, and sequence installs across the available holiday windows over a 2-3 year programme.
School solar FAQs
How much do solar panels cost for a school in the UK?
Is there a grant for solar panels for schools?
What is the Great British Energy Solar for Schools scheme?
When can school solar be installed without disrupting lessons?
Can a school sell back excess solar generation?
Will solar panels work on a flat school roof?
How does solar pair with school decarbonisation more broadly?
How do we integrate solar with the STEM curriculum?
Can a multi-academy trust contract for solar across multiple schools?
What schema / standards do school solar installs need to meet?
Our accreditations
Accredited, certified, and backed by independent standards
MCS Certified
NAPM47760
Heat pumps & solar
NICEIC Approved
D124458
Electrical contractor
Gas Safe Register
947841
Gas appliances
Heat Geek Trained
Heat pump design specialists
TrustMark
Government endorsed
Quality scheme
SafeContractor
Approved
H&S accredited
ISO 9001
2015
Quality management
ISO 14001
2015
Environmental management
ISO 45001
2018
OH&S management
PAS 2030
:2019
Retrofit standard
NAPIT
Member
Electrical inspection
F-Gas Certified
Air conditioning refrigerant
MCS Certified
NAPM47760
Heat pumps & solar
NICEIC Approved
D124458
Electrical contractor
Gas Safe Register
947841
Gas appliances
Heat Geek Trained
Heat pump design specialists
TrustMark
Government endorsed
Quality scheme
SafeContractor
Approved
H&S accredited
ISO 9001
2015
Quality management
ISO 14001
2015
Environmental management
ISO 45001
2018
OH&S management
PAS 2030
:2019
Retrofit standard
NAPIT
Member
Electrical inspection
F-Gas Certified
Air conditioning refrigerant
Every accreditation listed is independently verified. We carry the registration numbers — ask for any on request.
Book a school solar site visit
Free site survey including roof assessment, half-hourly meter data review, PSDS/LCSF/GBE-eligibility scoping and indicative design. No commitment until you're ready.