Fully funded commercial solar, serving Mid Wales
Commercial Solar Panels in Mid Wales: Welshpool, Newtown & Powys
Commercial solar panels in Welshpool, Newtown and across Powys and Ceredigion, paid for by our funding partner under a PPA (power purchase agreement), so nothing is due up front. You then buy the power the roof makes at a price per kWh (unit of electricity) that is fixed for 15 years, and we are based in Colwyn Bay with no office in Mid Wales, so we explain below how that works in practice.
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 Mid Wales
Solar PPA
Someone else pays for the panels. You buy the power they make at a low price, fixed for 15 years.
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Solar for Business
Warehouses, shops, hotels, schools, care homes and charities. If you use power in the day, this is for you.
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Solar for Farms
Barn roofs and big daytime loads, from milking to chilling. A battery too, where your usage justifies one.
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Commercial Battery Storage
Stores spare daytime power for later. We only add one if your half-hourly data shows it is worth it.
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Commercial EV Charging
Two chargers at no cost where you have a car park, subject to survey. You keep 50% of the revenue.
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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 Mid Wales 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 Mid Wales
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.
The 16p to 23p range is the same across Mid Wales, and the rate for your site is set from your usage data. What changes here is time and wiring, not price. A farm at the end of a long rural line, or a site under the other grid operator, may take longer to approve, and the proposal says how long. The funder pays for the application, so a slow approval costs you time and no money. 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 Mid Wales
Commercial solar panels in Welshpool and Mid Wales: livestock, market towns and long distances
Mid Wales is big, hilly and thinly settled, and the commercial economy follows the land. Farming is the backbone, with market towns acting as service centres and a few larger employers in between. Commercial solar panels in Welshpool or Newtown are a good match where a business uses a lot of power during the day, whether that is a feed store, a workshop, a food producer or a farm with a milking parlour or cold store.
We should be straight about distance. Bay Bright is run from Colwyn Bay and has no local office in Mid Wales. Mid Wales is inside the area we cover, but it is a stretch for us, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. The first consultation is on Zoom or in person, the remote roof check uses satellite images, and the fitting is done by MCS-registered installation partners. One person stays your point of contact, wherever your site is.
The grid is the one thing that works differently here, and it is worth knowing before you start. Mid Wales is not all in the area of SP Energy Networks, the DNO (distribution network operator, the company that runs the local power lines) that covers North Wales. Part of it is served by National Grid Electricity Distribution, which used to be called Western Power Distribution. Which one you have depends on your site, and we read it off your MPAN (the supply number on your bill) at the start.
A site qualifies with a three-phase supply (the heavier connection with three live wires), room for at least 20 kW of panels, and 12 months of usage data. Single-phase caps a system at roughly 15 to 17 kW. Send us a postcode and a recent bill and we will say whether it is worth going further.
What matters in Mid Wales
Five things that are different about commercial solar in Mid Wales
Two grid operators, long distances, a national park to the south and a farming economy. Here is how each one plays out.
Two grid operators share the region
The Powys County Council website lists both SP Energy Networks and Western Power Distribution as operators for its area, and tells residents to pick their own. National Grid describes its patch as running north to Aberaeron and Rhayader, so the south of the region sits on that side. For towns further north, such as Machynlleth, Newtown and Welshpool, a postcode check is the only safe answer. The 2 to 3 weeks we see with SP Energy Networks in North Wales may not apply under the other operator. Allow longer, and expect the proposal to give a range.
Distance from Colwyn Bay
It is a long way from our base to the sites at the far end of the region, such as Aberystwyth or Brecon. That cuts down on casual visits. It does not change the paperwork. Most of the early steps happen by video call, with a desktop roof check from satellite images and the usage data you send. Ask on the first call how any site visit would be handled for your location.
Farms and livestock markets drive demand
Welshpool's Monday sheep market at Buttington Cross is often called the largest one-day sheep sale in Europe, and reported figures put its yearly throughput above half a million sheep. The mart at Machynlleth and the Royal Welsh Showground at Builth Wells back that up. Farms around them run sheds, chillers, grain stores and workshops. A farm that mostly runs outdoors uses little power, so the usage data decides.
National park and open country
The southern edge of the region is Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, around Brecon, where the park authority is the planning authority and not Powys County Council. Outside it, planning sits with Powys, or with Ceredigion County Council for Aberystwyth and the coast. Panels on an existing roof are the lighter ask almost everywhere. A ground-mounted array in open hill country needs a full application and a landscape case.
Small estates and growing plans in Newtown
Newtown has three industrial estates, and Mochdre on the south-west edge is the largest. The county council and the Growing Mid Wales partners also plan an advanced manufacturing campus there, with business units alongside. That is plans, not buildings yet. For a business on an existing estate, the question is the same as elsewhere: who owns the roof, and do they agree?
Where we work
Mid Wales towns we cover, and what to expect in each
Nine towns across Powys and Ceredigion. Each has its own commercial pattern and a different distance from us.
Welshpool
On the English border and busy with agriculture. The Monday livestock market at Buttington Cross is the big draw, and the industrial estates hold a mix of metal, food and small works. Many people shop in Shrewsbury, so retail is thinner. Check your MPAN for the grid operator.
Newtown
The largest town in Powys, with three industrial estates and Mochdre the biggest. Manufacturers and trade units suit a roof-mounted system if the owner agrees. The planned manufacturing campus may bring more new buildings over the coming years.
Machynlleth
A small market town near the Dyfi estuary, with a livestock mart and the Centre for Alternative Technology a few miles out at Pantperthog. The mart and farms around it are the main commercial sites. Postcode matters for the grid operator.
Aberystwyth
A seaside university town in Ceredigion, so planning goes to Ceredigion County Council, not Powys. Large public estates run their own buying rules and take longer. Seafront hotels use power through the summer and face salt air.
Llandrindod Wells
A spa town that serves as Powys County Council's home. Smaller commercial premises and guest houses are common. Their usage data will show whether the 20 kW minimum fits, because many small premises are too small.
Llanidloes
A small town on the upper Severn. Its trade is local shops, workshops and the farms in the hills around. Farms in the hills around can sit at the end of long supply lines, which brings the grid check into focus.
Brecon
Next to Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, so planning depends on whether the site is inside or outside the boundary. A busy visitor town with hotels, pubs and army connections. It most likely sits with National Grid Electricity Distribution, not the operator that serves North Wales.
Builth Wells
Home of the Royal Welsh Showground at Llanelwedd, a site with big roofs whose use comes in bursts around events. Panels need steady daytime power, so the usage data matters more than the roof area. Farms and trade businesses nearby are an easier fit.
Rhayader
A small town on the edge of the Elan Valley, named by National Grid as the northern edge of its area, so confirm by postcode. Traders serve walkers, anglers and farmers. Sites are small and spread out, so check the supply phase before anything else.
Mid Wales questions
Commercial solar in Mid Wales: what people ask
Can a Welshpool business get commercial solar panels at no cost?
If it has a three-phase supply and room for at least 20 kW, often yes. Our funding partner pays for the panels, fitting and grid connection. You pay 16p to 23p for each kWh of solar you use, fixed for 15 years. The proposal gives the rate for your site.
Do you have an office or installers in Mid Wales?
No. We are based in Colwyn Bay and have no local office. The fitting is by MCS-registered installation partners, and one person stays your contact by phone and video. Tell us where the site is and we will explain how the visits would work.
Which grid operator covers my site in Mid Wales?
Either SP Energy Networks or National Grid Electricity Distribution, depending on the exact location. Your MPAN (the supply number on your electricity bill) tells us. Send us a postcode and a recent bill and we will confirm.
Will grid approval be slower in Mid Wales than on the coast?
It might be. In North Wales, SP Energy Networks has been taking 2 to 3 weeks. A proposal can allow up to 8 weeks, and 12 weeks is the legal maximum, so the whole job could stretch to the long end. We make the application and pay the cost, normally £500 to £1,000.
We farm sheep on a hill farm near Newtown. Is that a good fit?
It depends on what runs in the day. A farm with a workshop, grain drying, chillers or a dairy gets the most from panels. A farm that mostly grazes may use too little. Your 12 months of usage data will show it, and we will say so if the figures are thin.
Do I need planning permission for solar near Brecon or in the hills?
Panels on many existing commercial and farm roofs need little or no consent. Listed buildings and conservation areas add rules, and a ground-mounted array normally needs full permission. Inside Bannau Brycheiniog National Park the park authority decides. Elsewhere in Powys it is the county council.
Can a village hall, chapel or community shop in Mid Wales have a PPA?
Yes, if the supply and space are big enough for 20 kW. Charities and community buildings are on our list. The owner of the building has to agree and sign the roof lease. A committee or trustees will want time with the papers, which are non-binding for 10 working days.
What if I sell the farm or the business later?
The contract can pass to the new owner or occupier at the same rate. You can also buy the system out at any time from a printed schedule. At the end of year 15 you can buy it for £1.
Is it worth asking if my site is far from the A470 and A483?
Yes. The rate is worked out from your usage data, and the funder pays for the equipment and fitting. It can lengthen the grid step and the timetable for visits. A postcode and a recent bill is a free first step.
Find out if your Mid Wales 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.