Can You Use the WCS Grant Alongside Solar Panels?

Yes — the WCS voucher and a solar array can sit on the same project, but the grant pays for only one of them. The scheme funds EV chargepoint sockets; the panels, inverters, batteries and any canopy structure are outside it. For the solar half, the support available to most businesses in England is tax relief rather than a grant. Here is how the two fit together and where combined projects trip up.

What the voucher does and does not cover

The grant contributes up to £500 per socket towards the purchase and installation of chargepoints, capped at 75% of that cost and at 40 sockets across all of the applicant's sites, with applications closing at 11:59pm on 31 March 2027. It does not cover generation equipment. On a combined invoice, the installer redeems the voucher against the chargepoint lines only, so ask for quotes that separate the two halves clearly — you will need that split for the tax claims too.

What supports the solar half

There is no national capital grant for business solar in England in 2026, so the solar side relies on tax: the Annual Investment Allowance gives 100% relief on up to £1m of plant a year, including solar, which is special-rate plant. Above that, companies get a 50% first-year allowance on special-rate spend. Exported electricity can earn a Smart Export Guarantee payment, which requires an MCS-certified installation (or an equivalent scheme) and an export meter. In England, the panels and the chargers are both excluded from business-rates valuations until 31 March 2035.

How the reliefs stack on one project

1. Chargers: the voucher comes off first. The remaining chargepoint cost can take the 100% first-year allowance, available for new, unused chargepoint equipment until 31 March 2027 for companies and 5 April 2027 for income-tax payers.
2. Solar: the full cost goes into the AIA, which the chargepoint FYA does not use up.
3. Running costs: electricity the chargers take from the array instead of the grid saves the grid price, which averaged 24.14p/kWh for businesses in Q1 2026.

The capital allowances guide works through a costed example, and solar EV charging costs covers where the capital figures come from.

One installer or two?

The chargepoint work must be done by an OZEV-authorised installer using an approved model, or the voucher cannot be redeemed. The solar work should be MCS-certified if you want export payments. Some firms hold both; many do not. A combined project can still have one principal contractor with a specialist subcontractor, provided each half meets its own scheme's rules — check the OZEV and MCS registers for the named businesses, not just the lead contractor's logo.

Getting the order right

Vouchers expire, and grid work is usually the slowest part of a combined project. So: collect the meter data and model the combined system; get the grid position settled — a G99 application for the array and the DNO's process for the chargers — and only then apply for the voucher, when the installer can commit to a date. Applying first and waiting months for the DNO is the commonest way to lose a voucher. The grid connection guide covers that step.

Make sure the chargers can use the solar

A WCS-approved charger is not automatically able to follow an array's output. It needs a reading of the site's import and export at the supply intake, from a meter, CT clamp or energy management system, and a controller or charger that acts on it. Specify it with the charger order; retrofitting it later can mean a second visit. How the control layer works is covered in the guide to charging EVs from a site's own solar. For what the solar share depends on, see how solar EV charging works.

Who may use grant-funded sockets

Adding solar does not change the usage rule. If you applied as a business, WCS-funded chargepoints are for staff and fleet use, with local residents allowed outside office hours; charities, public authorities and small accommodation businesses may open them to anyone. The full rules, and the separate £2,000-per-socket strand for state-funded schools and colleges, are on the Workplace Charging Scheme page.

The March 2027 deadline

Both the scheme and the chargepoint first-year allowance for companies end on 31 March 2027. A combined project that wants both should have its voucher redeemed and its chargepoint expenditure incurred before then — which, given typical grid lead times, means starting the feasibility this autumn rather than next spring.

Sources: GOV.UK Find a Grant — Workplace Charging Scheme; HM Treasury policy paper on chargepoint first-year allowances (26 November 2025); CAA 2001 s45EA; HMRC CA22335; Ofgem, Smart Export Guarantee; S.I. 2022/405; DESNZ Quarterly Energy Prices table 3.4.2. Checked 27 September 2026; not tax advice.