Your Business Could Get £30,000 Toward Solar PV
The 2026/27 Commercial NISEP Scheme is open. The pot is limited. It's first come, first served. Here's everything you need to know.
If you run a business in Northern Ireland and you've been thinking about solar panels this is the article you need to read today.
The Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme (NISEP) 2026/27 Commercial Scheme is now open for applications, and it is offering eligible businesses up to 20% grant funding toward the cost of a commercial Solar PV installation. That's up to £30,000 back toward your project before you've paid a single electricity bill.
This isn't a rebate. This isn't a tax credit you'll see in two years. This is direct grant funding, and it will not last.
Let's break it all down.
What Is NISEP and Why Does It Exist?
NISEP — the Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme — is a government-backed energy efficiency programme funded through a levy on electricity bills paid by businesses and households across Northern Ireland. That means your business has already been contributing to this pot. The 2026/27 scheme is your opportunity to get some of it back.
The programme is administered by the Utility Regulator and delivered through approved scheme managers for the commercial Solar PV scheme, that's Power NI. It exists to help Northern Ireland businesses reduce their energy costs, lower their carbon footprint, and contribute to Northern Ireland's net zero targets.
Every year, a fixed pot of funding is divided between approved schemes. Once it's gone, it's gone. There is no appeal, no waiting list guarantee, and no rollover into the next year. The 2026/27 scheme runs from April 2026 to March 2027, or until all available funds have been allocated — whichever happens first.
Funds are allocated on a strict first-come, first-served basis.
What Does the Scheme Actually Offer?
Here's the hard detail:
Grant level: Up to 20% of the total eligible project cost
Maximum grant value: Up to £30,000 per eligible business
Technology covered: Commercial Solar PV
Who administers it: Power NI (as the NISEP scheme manager for commercial solar)
Who can apply: Registered businesses operating in Northern Ireland
That 20% figure is meaningful. On a £100,000 commercial solar installation, that's £20,000 back. On a £150,000 system, you're looking at £30,000 — the maximum returned to your business.
And here's the critical rule: you must receive a grant offer letter from Power NI before you place any orders or begin any work. If you commission your installation before your offer letter is issued, you will not be eligible for the funding. This is non-negotiable. Get the letter first.
Why Solar PV Makes Sense Even Without the Grant
Before we get to the urgency, let's be clear: commercial solar is a genuinely strong investment for most Northern Ireland businesses right now, grant or no grant.
Here's why:
Electricity prices aren't going back down. Commercial electricity prices have fundamentally shifted over the last several years. Businesses that depend on grid electricity are carrying a cost that will only grow. A well-designed solar PV system gives you a fixed, predictable source of electricity generation — power you generate yourself, at a fraction of the grid rate.
The payback period has shortened dramatically. Thanks to falling panel and inverter costs and persistently high electricity prices, commercial solar PV installations are typically achieving payback periods of 6–9 years in the current market often less for high-consumption businesses. With a 20% grant, that payback window shortens further still.
Solar PV has a 25+ year lifespan. The kit installed today will still be generating electricity for your business in 2050. Once the system is paid back, you're generating free power for decades.
Export revenues. Electricity your business generates but doesn't use can be exported back to the grid through the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), generating a further revenue stream from your investment.
EPC and ESG credentials. A solar PV installation directly improves your property's energy rating and strengthens any Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting you're required to or choose to produce. As supply chain ESG requirements tighten across sectors, this increasingly matters.
Who Is This Scheme For?
If you're a Northern Ireland business sole trader, limited company, partnership, charity, or social enterprise and you're a registered entity with a commercial premises, you are worth exploring eligibility.
The scheme is particularly compelling for businesses that:
Have high daytime electricity consumption (manufacturing, food production, cold storage, retail, hospitality, agriculture, healthcare, education)
Own or have long-term control of their premises (landlord consent will be needed for leased properties, and your lease term should comfortably outlast the payback period)
Have suitable south-facing or east/west-facing roof space
Are looking to reduce operating costs and protect against electricity price volatility
Have capital improvement budgets for 2026/27
If you're not sure whether your premises and consumption profile are right for solar, that's exactly what a site assessment is for — and getting that done early is the first step toward your grant application.
The Application Process: Step by Step
Here's how the process works:
Step 1: Express interest with your installer Contact an approved solar PV installer — like Wilson Power & Energy — to discuss your premises, energy consumption, and objectives. We'll carry out an initial assessment to determine whether solar PV is suitable and what size system makes sense for your business.
Step 2: System design and quotation We design a system tailored to your building and energy profile and provide a detailed quotation. This forms the basis of your grant application.
Step 3: Apply to Power NI for a grant offer letter With your quotation in hand, you apply to Power NI under the NISEP scheme. They will assess your application and, if approved, issue a grant offer letter confirming your funding.
Step 4: Accept the offer and proceed with installation Only once you have received and accepted your offer letter should you place equipment orders or begin work. Your installer will then schedule and carry out the installation to the required standard.
Step 5: Claim your grant Once the installation is complete and has passed inspection, your grant is claimed and applied to your project cost.
The key message: do not skip step 3. The grant must be approved before installation begins.
Don't Let These Myths Cost You £30,000
We hear the same hesitations from businesses every time a scheme like this opens. Here are the three most common and why they don't hold up.
"We'll look at it next year." There may not be a next year for this scheme at these terms. Funding is fixed. The businesses that applied in the first weeks of the 2025/26 scheme got their grant offers. The businesses that waited often found the pot empty. This is not a soft deadline.
"We're not sure the roof is suitable." That's what a site assessment is for. You won't know until you ask and asking costs nothing. A surprising number of industrial and commercial roofs that owners assume are unsuitable turn out to be perfectly workable for solar PV.
"We don't have the capital for the balance." The grant covers up to 20%. The remaining 80% can often be financed through commercial green loans, asset finance, or Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) structures where a third party funds the installation and you pay for the electricity you use, typically at a rate below your current grid tariff. In some cases, it's possible to benefit from solar PV with little or no upfront capital outlay. Talk to us about your options.
Why Wilson Power & Energy?
We're a specialist power and energy contractor based in Dromore, Northern Ireland. We design, install, and commission commercial Solar PV systems for businesses across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Great Britain.
We're not a national solar sales operation with a call centre handling your enquiry. We're a specialist team who will assess your site properly, design a system that works for your building and your energy profile, and install it to a standard that protects your investment for the next 25 years.
We handle the technical side — design, NIE Networks notification, G98/G99 compliance, commissioning, and handover — so you can focus on running your business.
And because we understand the NISEP process, we can help you navigate the application from the start, ensuring your quotation and documentation meet what Power NI needs to process your grant offer efficiently.
Act Now
We know every business gets told to act now on everything. This time, the urgency is structural, not a sales tactic.
The NISEP pot for commercial solar PV is fixed. It is being drawn down right now, by businesses that didn't wait. When it's gone, applications close — regardless of the date on the calendar.
The businesses that move fastest in the next few weeks will secure their grant offer letters. The businesses that wait to see if they feel like it in October may find there's nothing left.
If you want to explore whether your business qualifies, the conversation starts now.
Get in Touch
📩 Email us: hello@wilsonpowerandenergy.com 📞 Call us: +44 2892 732159
We'll carry out an initial assessment of your premises and consumption, explain exactly what's involved in the NISEP application, and give you an honest view of whether solar PV is the right investment for your business right now.
No obligation. No pressure. Just straight answers from people who know the technology and the process.