Commercial Solar EV Charging Cost in 2026
What does commercial solar EV charging cost? On the solar side there is an official answer: government data put the average non-domestic 10–50 kW system at £1,167 per kW installed in 2025/26. On the charging side there is no official price series, so this page shows what drives the cost, what the grant and tax relief take off, and a worked net-cost example with every assumption labelled.
The short answer
- Solar: DESNZ's 2025/26 figures give a median of £1,204 per kW and a mean of £1,267 per kW for all 10–50 kW systems, and a mean of £1,167 per kW for non-domestic ones. A 50 kW roof array therefore lands near £58,000–£63,000 on those averages.
- Chargers: the unit is often the smaller part of the bill. Cable distance from the board, groundworks, whether the supply needs work and the back-office software decide most of it. Get itemised quotes.
- Grant: the Workplace Charging Scheme takes off up to £500 per socket (75% cap, 40 sockets, closes 31 March 2027).
- Tax: new chargepoints qualify for a 100% first-year allowance to 31 March 2027 (companies); solar is covered by the £1m Annual Investment Allowance.
The solar half: what government data says
DESNZ publishes installed costs for every MCS-certified system up to 50 kW. The latest release, published on 28 May 2026, covers the 2025/26 financial year:
| System size (2025/26) | Median £/kW | Mean £/kW |
|---|---|---|
| 4–10 kW (all installations) | £1,546 | £1,622 |
| 10–50 kW (all installations) | £1,204 | £1,267 |
| 10–50 kW, non-domestic only | — | £1,167 |
Source: DESNZ, Solar PV cost data (total installed capacity basis), 2025/26. Costs include connection and VAT where it applied; a VAT-registered business recovers that VAT. Batteries are excluded.
Three things move a commercial quote away from those averages. Scale: the data stop at 50 kW, and per-kW prices generally fall as systems grow because design, access and grid work are spread over more panels. Roof: fragile or asbestos roofs, long cable runs to the intake and awkward access add cost. Structure: a solar canopy over parking bays needs steel and foundations, so it costs markedly more per kW than a roof array — and at a 10° pitch it yields roughly 10% less than a 35° roof in the same place.
What that solar electricity costs per kWh
Divide the installed cost by what the array produces over its life. PVGIS puts a 10° south-facing array at about 920 kWh per kW a year in London and 807 kWh in Manchester. Over 25 years, allowing for panels losing around 0.5% of output a year, £1,167 per kW works out at roughly 5.4p per kWh in London and 6.2p per kWh in Manchester — capital cost only, before finance, inverter replacement and maintenance. Against a business grid price that averaged 24.14p/kWh in the first quarter of 2026, that gap is what pays for the system.
The charging half: what drives the price
There is no government price series for installed commercial chargepoints, and ranges quoted online are usually one installer's price list. The items that decide your quote are more useful than a national average:
- Power and type. 7 kW single-phase AC sockets suit long-dwell staff parking; 22 kW three-phase AC helps only vehicles whose on-board charger accepts it; DC rapid units cost several times more and often need grid work.
- Distance and groundworks. Trenching across tarmac to a car park far from the distribution board can cost more than the chargers. Duct for the final number of bays on day one.
- Supply capacity. Dynamic load management lets many sockets share an existing supply; a new or larger connection is a separate, site-specific quote from the DNO. See grid connection for solar and EV charging.
- Software and metering. Back-office platforms usually charge per socket per month, and billing staff or visitors needs reliable per-session metering.
- Solar-following control. A meter or CT clamp at the intake, and a charger or controller that can use its reading, are what let chargers follow the array. Budget for it in the first order.
Two official numbers help sanity-check quotes. The WCS caps its grant at 75% of cost, so any socket costing at least £667 installed attracts the full £500. And Approved Document S exempts new-build chargepoints where the grid connection cost would exceed £3,600 per chargepoint — a signal of where regulators think connection costs become unreasonable.
Worked example: net cost of a 40 kW roof and 20 staff sockets
A business park unit near Manchester adds solar and staff charging together. Replace the assumptions with your own quotes. Or use the EV charging cost calculator, which takes your vehicles, parking hours and array size.
| Line | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Solar, 40 kW | £46,680 | 40 × £1,167 (DESNZ 2025/26 non-domestic mean) |
| 20 × 7 kW sockets with groundworks and load management | £28,000 | Assumption: £1,400 per socket installed |
| Less Workplace Charging Scheme | −£10,000 | 20 × £500 (75% of £1,400 exceeds £500) |
| Net capital cost | £64,680 | |
| Tax saved by first-year allowances | −£16,170 | AIA on solar + 100% FYA on chargers net of grant, at the 25% main rate of Corporation Tax |
| After-tax cost | £48,510 | |
| Annual solar output | 32,280 kWh | 40 × 807 kWh (PVGIS, Manchester, 10°) |
What that buys back each year depends on how much of the output the site and the vehicles use, and at what price — the business case page models the value side. On an unincorporated business the allowances work the same way against income tax at the owner's marginal rate.
Running costs to include
Back-office software per socket, periodic inspection and testing of the electrical installation, insurance, a planned inverter replacement during the array's life, and cleaning where the roof or canopy collects dirt. None is large next to the capital cost, but a quote that leaves them out is not comparable with one that includes them. For depot chargers, the depot charger grant offered to fund 70% of charge point and civil costs in its first window. Charger-only budgets are covered in the workplace EV charging costs guide.
VAT and business rates
Commercial solar and charging installations carry standard-rate VAT, which a VAT-registered business normally recovers; the 0% rate on solar applies to residential property, not business premises. In England, on-site renewable and chargepoint plant is excluded from business-rates valuations until 31 March 2035 (S.I. 2022/405). Details are in the capital allowances and tax guide, and the WCS grant page covers the scheme rules. For how the whole system fits together, start with commercial solar EV charging.
Solar EV charging cost questions
How much does a solar EV charger cost for a business?
A charger does not need to be a special "solar" model to use solar power, but it needs a reading of the site's import and export and a control mode that acts on it. Budget for that metering and control alongside the charger itself; for the solar half, DESNZ data put non-domestic 10–50 kW systems at £1,167 per kW on average in 2025/26.
How much is it to install a commercial EV charger?
There is no official price series. The quote is driven by charger power and type, cable distance and groundworks, whether the supply needs work, and software. The Workplace Charging Scheme pays up to £500 per socket (75% cap), and the remaining cost of new chargepoints can take a 100% first-year allowance until 31 March 2027 for companies.
How much does commercial solar cost per kW in 2026?
For 2025/26, DESNZ reports a median of £1,204 per kW and a mean of £1,267 per kW for all 10–50 kW systems, and a mean of £1,167 per kW for non-domestic ones. Larger systems are not covered by the data and are usually cheaper per kW.
Are solar canopies more expensive than rooftop solar?
Yes, per kW, because the canopy needs a steel structure and foundations. A 10° canopy also yields roughly 10% less than a 35° array in the same location, according to PVGIS.
Is VAT charged on commercial solar and chargers?
Yes, at the standard rate; a VAT-registered business normally recovers it. The 0% VAT rate on solar panels applies to residential property, not business premises.
Sources
- DESNZ, Solar PV cost data 2025/26 (TIC and DNC bases), published 28 May 2026 — gov.uk.
- EU Joint Research Centre, PVGIS 5.3 (SARAH3, 14% system losses).
- Jordan & Kurtz, "Photovoltaic Degradation Rates — An Analytical Review", Progress in Photovoltaics 21(1), 2013 — doi.org/10.1002/pip.1182 (median 0.5%/year).
- DESNZ, Quarterly Energy Prices, table 3.4.2, Q1 2026.
- GOV.UK Find a Grant — Workplace Charging Scheme.
- Approved Document S — Infrastructure for charging electric vehicles (the £3,600 connection-cost exemption).
- HM Treasury, first-year allowances for chargepoints (26 Nov 2025); HMRC Capital Allowances Manual CA22335.
Figures checked 27 September 2026.
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