Solar and energy storage systems for factories
A factory draws significant electricity across many hours of the day. The practical question is not whether a roof exists, but how much of that consumption it can cover, and under which tariff structure that makes sense.
Request a factory feasibility checkWhat makes a factory a good candidate
Not every factory suits solar to the same degree. These three characteristics influence the outcome more than anything else.
Consumption during generation hours
Manufacturing creates demand during daylight hours, when solar generation takes place. That overlap is the basic condition for meaningful self-consumption.
An ongoing cost you can influence
Electricity is a fixed component of industrial cost. Changing that component affects production cost directly.
Installation areas within the site
Production building roofs, ancillary structures and on-site warehouses can host an installation, subject to an engineering review.
What characterises electricity consumption in a factory
These gaps appear in almost every industrial assessment. They are the reason a roof-area calculation on its own is not enough.
Loads that shift between shifts
Consumption varies between shifts, working days and peak periods. Solar generation, which is relatively steady, does not always coincide with the actual load.
Demand charges and tariff structure
Tariff components, including demand charges at particular hours, influence the commercial calculation as much as the volume of energy consumed.
Roof and structure constraints
The age of the building, the type of roof covering, load-bearing capacity and existing roof systems determine how much can actually be installed — not just the free area.
Keeping production running
Installation and maintenance work has to account for the line being live. Roof access and scheduling are agreed in advance with the operations team.
Where a factory usually starts
The recommendation follows the site data. These are the solutions normally assessed in industry:
Engineering and commercial considerations
It helps to separate the two: some questions are engineering, others are purely commercial.
Engineering review
- Load-bearing capacity of the structure and existing roof covering
- Wind and water loading, and the system holding up over the years
- Cable routing and integration with the site switchboards
- Existing connection capacity and grid constraints
- Safe access for maintenance and cleaning over time
Commercial review
- The actual consumption profile and tariff structure
- The share of consumption that overlaps generation hours
- Capital cost and the financing route
- Investment scale relative to the size of the site
- Maintenance, degradation and depreciation over system life
Binding figures come only from an assessment of actual site data. We do not publish blanket savings percentages and we do not commit to a payback period before the data has been reviewed.
Our delivery method on an industrial project
Five stages, from the first conversation to operation. Each stage has a clear input and output.
Initial conversation
Understanding the operation, the tariff structure and what matters to management — ongoing cost, energy independence or meeting targets.
Collecting site data
Bills, meter data, building drawings and measurements where needed. The more complete the information, the more accurate the assessment.
Initial suitability review
Examining installation areas, connection limits and engineering feasibility, and flagging what needs further investigation.
Commercial modelling
Presenting alternatives at different scales, together with the assumptions behind them, so the decision is a business one.
Advancing the project
Supporting design, licensing, contractors and grid connection through to operation and ongoing maintenance.
What is worth preparing before the feasibility check
You do not need everything in advance. These are the inputs that move the assessment forward most.
An initial suitability review is not an approval, a commitment or an engagement. In some cases the conclusion will be that the site is not suitable at meaningful scale.
Frequently asked questions
Related pages
The solutions behind industrial projects
Let us look at what suits your factory
Send us basic consumption data and site details, and we will come back with an initial view of what can be installed and of the commercial alternatives.