Industrial, Warehouse, Logistics and Fleet-Depot Installation

Industrial estates, warehouses and fleet depots are where the ground and the grid dominate the install. Large open hard-standing and HGV or van yards make the ground-condition survey and the foundation choice the biggest variables, the open exposure drives a heavier structural spec, and fleet-EV charging pushes the DNO G99 reinforcement to the front of the programme.

Why installing on a industrial, warehouse, logistics and fleet-depot site is different

Every solar carport is a steel structure engineered to BS EN 1991 wind and snow loads, founded on screw piles or concrete footings from a ground survey, and connected to the grid — but the sequencing, the loads and the funding change by sector. For this sector, the install turns on:

• Ground-condition survey drives the foundation choice (screw pile versus concrete footing)
• Larger spans and heavier structural spec for open, wind-exposed yards
• Fleet-EV charging load and G99 grid reinforcement designed in from the start
• Scale drives the per-kWp cost toward the ~£1,100/kWp floor

Sizing, cost and payback

Carports size by parking bay, at roughly 2 kWp per standard space (four to six panels), so this sector's typical 250-2,000+ kWp covers a large part of the car park. At UK yields of about 900 to 950 kWh per kWp, that generates in the region of 225,000-1,900,000 kWh a year. A full install here typically runs £300k-£2m+ ex VAT, with simple payback around 8 years before the Annual Investment Allowance and 50% first-year allowance are applied — which shorten it. The steel structure is 40 to 50 per cent of that figure, which is why larger bay counts get materially better value per kWp.

What the install involves on a industrial, warehouse, logistics and fleet-depot site

On an industrial estate or fleet yard the ground is the story. Former-industrial and brownfield hard-standing routinely hides made ground, buried services, old foundations and sometimes contamination, so the ground investigation and trial holes come before anything is priced firmly — they decide between concrete-free screw piles and engineered footings, and flag any remediation. Open, exposed yards see higher wind uplift, so the steel is specified heavier and the spans checked hard against BS EN 1991. HGV and van swept paths have to stay clear through the build, and where a fleet is being electrified the DNO G99 reinforcement for the combined array-and-charger load is the long pole — we submit it first so the grid, not the steel, sets the programme. These sites are also where scale pays off most: a large, uniform yard spreads the fixed steel cost across the most capacity, pulling the per-kWp price toward the floor of the range. Where a warehouse roof is already full of PV, the yard canopy is frequently the only remaining surface, and we check the shared connection's spare capacity before sizing so the two arrays do not compete for the same export headroom.

Consents, compliance and funding for this sector

Most commercial canopy arrays exceed 3.68kW per phase, so they need a G99 DNO pre-approval before install (often 8-16 weeks) — commercial installs are not fit-and-inform. The business-rates exemption on on-site generation and storage applies in England only (to 31 March 2035); Scotland and Wales are devolved.

We prepare and submit the planning route (Class OA prior approval in England, Class 9M in Scotland, or full planning in Wales and Northern Ireland) and the DNO G99 grid application on your behalf, and run them in parallel with fabrication. See the planning guide and the grants and funding routes.

A representative install

A logistics depot electrifying a van fleet on an exposed yard. We install a 750 kW canopy on screw piles chosen from a ground survey, with heavier spans for the wind exposure and a G99 reinforcement designed in from day one for the fleet charging load. Illustrative.

Whatever the sector, one MCS-certified team holds the whole scope — structure, PV, electrical and grid — with separate written warranties on the structure and the panels and an optional O&M plan, so you know who is accountable for the canopy in year eight.