Fully funded commercial solar, serving Chester & Cheshire
Commercial Solar Panels in Chester & Cheshire
A funding partner pays for the panels and the fitting, and your business buys the power at a fixed price per kWh (a unit of electricity) for 15 years. We cover Chester, Ellesmere Port, Warrington, Crewe, Winsford and the farms around Nantwich and Tarporley.
Nothing to pay up front, not even a deposit. Fixed for 15 years.
“It hasn't cost me a single penny to have it all installed.”
£0 up front
Our funding partner pays for the system. Not even a deposit
Fixed for 15 years
Between 16p and 23p per kWh today, depending on the site (September 2026)
NAPIT
Our installers are accredited
Our installation partners are MCS registered, and RECC and NAPIT accredited
One person to call
Dave handles the funder, the installer and the grid for you, first call to first bill
What we do
Commercial solar for sites across Chester & Cheshire
Solar PPA
Someone else pays for the panels. You buy the power they make at a low price, fixed for 15 years.
Find out more
Solar for Business
Warehouses, shops, hotels, schools, care homes and charities. If you use power in the day, this is for you.
Find out more
Solar for Farms
Barn roofs and big daytime loads, from milking to chilling. A battery too, where your usage justifies one.
Find out more
Commercial Battery Storage
Stores spare daytime power for later. We only add one if your half-hourly data shows it is worth it.
Find out more
Commercial EV Charging
Two chargers at no cost where you have a car park, subject to survey. You keep 50% of the revenue.
Find out more
Who you'll be dealing with
Meet Dave Williams, your one point of contact
I'm Dave. I was born and raised in North Wales. I spent 15 years in retail management, went into solar in 2021, and studied commercial PPAs for about two years before I started Bay Bright Solar in late 2025.
I sit between the funder, the kit supplier, the installer and the grid operator, and I handle all of it for you, across Chester & Cheshire and the places around it. That's 11 funded projects so far, six of them in North Wales. I only get paid when your system is switched on, so I want it to work.
Integrity is everything to me, so we're totally transparent.
More about Dave and Bay BrightIn their own words
They thought it was too good to be true as well
“I was pretty sceptical initially because you never get anything for free in this life. But once Dave broke down the detail and explained to me how it would benefit Crest as an organisation, it became quickly to me a bit of a no-brainer.”
“It hasn't cost me a single penny to have it all installed.”
- System size (peak output)
- 50 kWp
- Power it makes each year
- 36,290 kWh
- Fixed price for 15 years
- 18p per kWh (was 37p)
- Saving in year one
- £4,739
- Saving over 15 years
- £131,796
The 15-year figure assumes grid prices rise 5% a year. Your proposal works out your own figures, never a promise.
Free, in writing, no obligation
Your proposal, worked out from your own bills
You shouldn't have to take our word for it. So the numbers come first, in writing, with no obligation. This is what Crest Community Centre's looked like. Yours comes back in up to 5 working days.
- The system designed for your siteSized to your real usage by the funder's design team, with how much power it should make each year.
- Your fixed price per kWhSet from your usage data. Between 16p and 23p today, and fixed for 15 years.
- Your savingsIn year one and over 15 years, worked out from your own bills. Illustrative, never a promise.
- Your buy-out price for every yearPrinted in full, falling each year to £1 at year 15. So you can see your way out before you sign.
What it costs in Chester & Cheshire
Nothing up front, then a low price that never moves
To have it designed, fitted and connected
Our funding partner pays for all of it. Not even a deposit.
Per kWh for the solar you use, fixed for 15 years
Depends on your site (September 2026). Everything else stays with your normal supplier.
In Cheshire the price per kWh comes from your own usage, not a county average. A dairy shed that milks early and late tends to use more of what the roof makes than an office that empties at five. Sites range from a 20 kW farm roof to a full logistics roof, and the grid application, typically £500 to £1,000, is covered by us. See how a PPA works and what commercial solar costs to buy.
What you pay per kWh for the solar you use
- PPA price: 16p to 23p, fixed for 15 years
- What our case-study customers were paying: about 23p to 53p
PPA prices as of September 2026, and your rate depends on your site. Savings are illustrative, never promised. Your proposal works out your own.
Check your eligibilityFree, no obligation, about two minutesThe honest comparison
A solar PPA or buying outright: how they compare
Buying can be the better deal if you have the cash and want to manage it yourself. A PPA suits a site that would rather keep its money and hand over the work.
| What to compare | Solar PPA with Bay Bright | Buying outright |
|---|---|---|
| Cost up front | £0, not even a deposit | The full cost. Crest's 50 kWp system is valued at £42,741 |
| What you pay for power | A fixed price per kWh for 15 years | Nothing per kWh once it's paid for, which is the big win of buying |
| Repairs, checks and cleaning | Covered for the full term at no cost | Yours to arrange and pay for |
| If it makes less power | You pay less, because you only pay for what you use | You have paid for the system either way |
| Who owns it | The funder, until you buy it out. £1 at year 15 | You, from day one |
| The grid application | We do the forms and pay the fee | Usually part of your installer's price |
It sounds too good to be true
The elephant in the room: what is the catch?
What is the catch?
Here is how the money works
Our funding partner earns in two ways. You buy the solar power you use at the fixed price, and any spare power is sold to the grid. Over 15 years that pays back the system, and a bit more. The funder gets a long, steady return. You get cheaper power and pay nothing to start.
Who is the funder, and do they get my roof?
A UK company that rents the roof space, nothing more
Our funding partner is a UK company. Its projects are paid for by a UK bank, and the systems are insured. You meet them on your proposal call. They only rent the space on your roof (a roof lease). They never own your roof or your building. They also run a soft credit check on the business, which leaves no mark on your file. We tell you that up front.
What if it makes less power than you said, or breaks?
You only pay for the solar you use
Your proposal states how much power the system should make. The funder only earns when it generates, so it has every reason to keep it working. If it makes less, you pay less. It is watched from a central screen, and if something stops, it gets fixed at no cost. While that happens, your building just uses the grid.
Am I locked in for 15 years?
You can buy it at any time, from a printed list
Your proposal prints the buy-out price for every year, and it falls each year. Crest's starts at £42,741, is £28,487 at year 5, £14,233 at year 10 and £1 at year 15. If you sell the building, the deal can pass to the new owner at the same price, or you can buy it out.
How it works
From first call to switch-on, in about five to six weeks
About five to six weeks in North Wales. Up to 12 weeks where the grid operator is slower.
Before you decide anything
- 1
Tell us about your site
A few quick questions, about two minutes. Or just call. Dave calls back within 24 hours.
- 2
We check your roof and bills
A desktop survey from satellite images, plus the 12 months of usage data you send over.
- 3
Your proposal, on a video call
The funder's design team builds it in up to 5 working days. We go through it with you, and the funder joins so you can ask them anything.
- 4
Paperwork that doesn't bind you
Three first papers let us apply to the grid for you. They are not binding and stay open for 10 working days.
Once you've said yes
- 5
Site survey and grid approval (DNO)
A full survey on site. Then we apply to the grid operator and pay the fee. SP Energy Networks takes 2 to 3 weeks locally, and it can take up to 12 weeks where the operator is slower.
- 6
Fitted while you stay open
MCS-registered installers fit the system. Both our case-study customers stayed open throughout.
- 7
Switch-on and your first bill
The direct debit starts once the system is running. Dave comes back after a month to check your first bill with you.
Commercial solar in Chester & Cheshire
Commercial solar panels in Chester and Cheshire, from Ellesmere Port sheds to Nantwich dairy farms
Searching for commercial solar panels in Chester or the wider county usually starts with one question: is my roof big enough? In Cheshire it often is. Ellesmere Port alone has more than twenty business parks and industrial estates on the council's list, and the farm sheds across the plain around Nantwich and Tarporley are long and plain. Under a PPA (power purchase agreement) a funding partner pays for the panels and the fitting. Your business then buys the electricity they make at a fixed price per kWh, for 15 years.
We should be straight about where we sit. Bay Bright is based in Colwyn Bay and has no office in Cheshire. Chester is roughly an hour along the A55, and the towns further south are a longer drive. Dave Williams, who runs the business, is your one contact from the first call to the first bill, and he visits after the install and again after your first bill. Design and fitting are done by partners who work across Great Britain.
The distance costs us travel time. The real variable is the grid operator (the DNO, short for distribution network operator), which must confirm its network can take what your roof sends back. Plan on five to six weeks overall when that check is quick, and up to 12 weeks when it is slower. We would rather say so now than halfway through.
A few sites will not qualify, and it is better to know early. You need a three-phase supply (the heavier connection that most factories and larger farms have) and room for at least 20 kW of panels (kilowatts, the size of the system), which is about 45 to 50 panels. A small shop or an office suite is unlikely to fit. A warehouse, a milking parlour or a business park unit with a big roof usually does.
What matters in Chester & Cheshire
Six things that shape commercial solar in Cheshire
The roof is rarely the hard part. The grid operator, the landlord and the council usually are.
Two grid operators share the county
Public sources put Warrington, Crewe and the mid-Cheshire towns of Winsford and Northwich in SP Energy Networks' area, the same operator we deal with in North Wales. Parts of east Cheshire are served by Electricity North West instead, and Higher Hurdsfield near Macclesfield is one example. We check every site by its MPAN (the long supply number printed on a bill), because the first two digits name the operator.
Four councils, and a walled city
Cheshire West and Chester handles Chester, Ellesmere Port, Northwich, Winsford, Frodsham and Tarporley. Cheshire East handles Crewe and Nantwich, Warrington has its own council, and Halton covers Runcorn. On a business roof solar is usually permitted development, but larger roof systems may need the council's prior approval, which can take up to 56 days. Listed buildings are excluded, and Chester's centre has many.
Dairy sheds on the plain
Cheese-making grew out of dairy farming on the Cheshire Plain, and milking sheds remain some of the best roofs for a PPA. Milking starts early and the cooling tank never stops, so a farm uses much of what its roof makes. In a proposal for a dairy farm in North Yorkshire, adding a battery moved the rate from 17p to 18p up to 21p, so we only suggest one where the milking pattern earns it.
Process plants and big estates
Salt and chemicals shaped Northwich, Winsford and Runcorn, and vehicles and refining shape Ellesmere Port. Winsford Industrial Estate alone holds around 150 businesses and more than 4,000 jobs, according to the council. Plants that run all day use their own solar power as it is made, which is exactly what a PPA rewards. Many roofs belong to a landlord rather than the firm underneath, and we need the owner's agreement.
Rented buildings and the 2031 EPC rule
An EPC (energy performance certificate) grades a building from A to G. The government has confirmed that privately rented commercial buildings over 1,000 square metres will need an EPC B from 2031, where the work is cost-effective, while smaller ones stay on the current minimum of E. Solar is one of the most direct ways to lift a rating, and a PPA does it with nothing to pay up front.
Chester's centre, and a border on the doorstep
A roof inside Chester's walled centre is a planning conversation before it is a solar one. The business parks at the city's edge, Chester Business Park among them, are a simpler job with wide flat roofs and easy access. The Welsh border is close by too. Lesters Farm Shop in Buckley, Flintshire, has a 56.7 kW system at 17p per kWh.
Where we work
Cheshire towns we cover, and what to expect in each
From the Mersey down to the Shropshire edge, each town below is in reach. Here is what is typical, and what we would check first.
Chester
The walled centre has many listed buildings, so work there starts with the council. The better chances are on the business parks and trading estates at the city edge, where roofs are wide and access is easy. Expect video calls first, as we have no office here.
Ellesmere Port
The busiest industrial town in the county for roofs. The council lists more than twenty business parks and estates, from Portside and Pioneer to Cheshire Oaks Business Park, with Stanlow and a large vehicle plant close by. On multi-let units, the landlord's consent is the usual first question.
Crewe
A railway and engineering town with a car factory on Pyms Lane. Crewe Business Park, Weston Gate and Marshfield Bank Employment Park supply plenty of distribution and light industry. SP Energy Networks has renewed Crewe's main grid substation, though each site is still checked on its own.
Northwich
Salt and chemicals built the town, with chemical sites at Winnington, Wallerscote and Lostock. Heavy loads that run through the day suit solar well. Rudheath, along the A556, and Hartford hold many of the newer employers.
Warrington
A logistics hub inside the box formed by the M6, M56 and M62. Omega is mostly warehousing, and Birchwood stands on the former Risley ordnance site. Warrington Borough Council is the planning authority, and public sources place the network under SP Energy Networks.
Runcorn
Chemicals still dominate the west of the town, with Astmoor, Manor Park, Whitehouse and Weston Point the main industrial areas. Sci-Tech Daresbury, a science campus, lies to the southeast. Halton Borough Council handles planning here, not Cheshire West.
Winsford
Rows of broadly similar units on one very large estate, plus the largest rock salt mine in the UK. With an expansion under way and so many neighbours, there is usually a landlord to speak to first.
Nantwich
A market town with a conservation area of about 38 hectares and more historic buildings than anywhere in the county bar Chester. The solar case sits at the edge, in the dairy and food businesses around it. Reaseheath, the land-based college, shows how much farming surrounds the town.
Frodsham
A small market town under the Mersey marshes, where the Manchester Ship Canal and the M56 shape the low ground. Town-centre shops are mostly too small for us. Larger industrial sites sit out on the marsh side, and those are worth a call.
Tarporley
A village-scale market town serving the farms of the plain. Most chances here are agricultural, with dairy and arable sheds on three-phase supply. Rural lines carry less spare capacity than town ones, so the grid operator check deserves extra attention.
Chester & Cheshire questions
Commercial solar in Chester & Cheshire: what people ask
Do you install commercial solar panels in Chester, or only in North Wales?
We arrange them in Chester and across Cheshire, and we are upfront about the set-up. Bay Bright is based in Colwyn Bay and has no office in Cheshire. Our funding and installation partners work across Great Britain, and Dave Williams is your single contact throughout.
Which grid operator covers my Cheshire site?
Most of the county is SP Energy Networks, but parts of east Cheshire are served by Electricity North West. We confirm it from your MPAN, the supply number on your bill. Then we make the application and handle the paperwork.
How long does it take in Cheshire compared with North Wales?
Plan on about five to six weeks when the grid check is quick, and up to 12 weeks when it is slower. In North Wales, SP Energy Networks has been taking two to three weeks. We cannot promise the same for every Cheshire site, so we tell you where yours is likely to fall.
Can a dairy farm on the Cheshire plain use solar well?
Often yes, because milking and cooling use power through the day, so much of what the roof makes is used on site. A dairy farm in North Yorkshire was shown in a proposal saving £14,723 a year at 21p per kWh with a battery, against about 53p before. That is one farm. Your saving depends on your own prices and usage, and it is an illustration, not a promise.
Does my building need three-phase power?
Yes. Ask your site manager or electrician. Larger Cheshire farms and Ellesmere Port units usually have it, while a village shop usually does not. A single-phase supply caps a system at around 15 to 17 kW, which is below our 20 kW minimum.
I rent a unit on a Cheshire business park. Can I still get solar?
Yes, with your landlord's agreement. The landlord gains too, because the building's EPC rating improves. Privately rented commercial buildings over 1,000 square metres will need an EPC B from 2031 where it is cost-effective, so many owners are already thinking about it.
Do solar panels on a Cheshire business roof need planning permission?
Often not in full, but check. Solar on a business roof is usually permitted development, though larger roof systems may need the council's prior approval. Listed buildings are excluded, and conservation areas such as parts of Chester and Nantwich can add limits. We check with the right council for your address.
Who looks after the system once it is on a Cheshire roof?
The provider monitors, maintains and cleans it for the whole 15 years, with cleaning every 6 to 12 months. Nobody on your staff needs to watch it. While a fault is being fixed, the building simply draws from the grid. Dave stays your contact and revisits after your first bill.
Have you done a job in Cheshire?
Our two named customers are in North Wales. They are Crest Community Centre in Llandudno Junction and Lesters Farm Shop in Buckley, Flintshire, just over the border. We have not named a Cheshire customer and will not pretend otherwise. Ask on the call about projects nearer to you.
Find out if your Chester & Cheshire site qualifies
Send your postcode and a recent bill. We check your roof on a map and tell you quickly. It costs nothing, and nothing you sign at the start ties you in.