Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans he has to help increase the use of solar panels on roofs of industrial and commercial buildings.

The Government is encouraging businesses to install solar panels on their roofs in various ways, for example through a business rate exemption for a range of green technologies, including solar panels and solar & storage packages, used for generating renewable energy onsite until 2035.

Businesses installing solar panels also benefit from tax relief. My Rt. Hon. Friend the then Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Growth Plan set out that the temporary increase in Annual Investment Allowance for qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery assets (including solar panels) has been made permanent.

The Government is also reviewing existing permitted development rights to simplify planning and enable more rooftop solar deployment on industrial and commercial buildings.