Solar Carport Installation — UK Turnkey Installers

Installed solar carports typically run from about £6,000 to £12,000 per parking space (ex VAT), or around £1,100 to £1,600 per kWp at commercial scale, materially more than rooftop solar (£700-£1,050 per kWp) because the hot-dip galvanised steel structure and foundations are 40-50% of the job. Smaller structures run £1,200-£3,000 per kWp. As a guide, a 100-space commercial scheme is roughly £600,000-£1m ex VAT. Per-space cost falls as bay count rises, so larger car parks get materially better value.

There are eight stages: a free site survey and feasibility; structural and electrical design with a fixed line-item quote; the Class OA or Class 9M prior-approval application and the DNO G99 grid application (run in parallel); steel fabrication and procurement; groundworks and foundations; steel frame erection and canopy build; electrical works, testing and commissioning to MCS and BS 7671; and handover with warranties and an optional O&M plan. The consents and the grid connection run alongside fabrication so paperwork does not hold up the programme.

Expect roughly 2-3 months from go-ahead to energised for a commercial scheme, and a few weeks for a domestic carport. On-site build time is typically 1-3 weeks for a commercial car park and 2-5 days for a driveway carport. The longest items are the Class OA prior approval (a 56-day statutory clock) and the DNO G99 grid connection (often 8-16 weeks), which we start on day one and run in parallel.

Two main options, chosen from a ground survey. Helical screw piles are steel piles driven into the ground, each supporting 2-plus tonnes; they suit around 90% of sites, install fast and leave no wet concrete, so the car park comes back into use quickly. Where the ground cannot be penetrated, over services, membranes or contaminated land, we use ballasted or concrete footings held by weight or mass. Both are engineered to BS EN 1991 wind and snow loads and confirmed by the survey.

In England, usually not full planning. Since 21 December 2023, Class OA of the GPDO allows solar canopies over non-domestic off-street car parks under a prior-approval application rather than full planning, with a 56-day determination on siting, design and glare. Scotland has its own permitted-development right under Class 9M (in force 24 May 2024). Wales and Northern Ireland still need full planning. Full planning is also needed for listed buildings, scheduled monuments and canopies over 4m or within 10m of a dwelling. We prepare and submit whichever application applies.

Almost always, yes. G98 fit-and-inform only covers systems up to 3.68kW per phase, so most commercial carports need a G99 pre-approval from your Distribution Network Operator before installation. The DNO review takes up to about 45 working days, often 8-16 weeks, and it is usually the longest single item in the programme, so we submit it on day one. EV charging adds load that we coordinate into the same application.

Only in phases. We sequence the install so most bays stay open, closing and reopening sections rather than the whole car park, and we programme the disruptive stages, groundworks and steel erection, around your quiet periods or out of hours. The only full outage is the final grid connection, typically a few hours, scheduled out of hours. For a domestic carport the driveway is usually usable within 2-5 days.

Because a carport is a steel structure you build, not a roof you reuse. The columns, beams, canopy frame and foundations make up 40-50% of the total, which is why carports cost roughly two to three times rooftop per kWp. That fixed structural overhead is also why they get much better value at scale: a 250-space scheme spreads the steel cost across far more generating capacity than a 20-space one, pulling the per-kWp cost down toward the £1,100 floor.