UK Real Estate: UK rooftop solar potential exceeds 60 GW

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 9, the UK real estate industry body Real Estate released the results of a study on rooftop solar PV for commercial real estate. The study was commissioned by Real Estate, supported by Forsters and Push Power, and authored by Cushman & Wakefield. The study shows that less than 10% of UK commercial building roofs suitable for solar PV installation are currently utilized, with existing related PV capacity at approximately 3–5 GW, and the potential additional capacity from the remaining roofs exceeding 60 GW.

The study covered 70 real estate organizations, whose combined assets under management exceed £500 billion. According to the report's estimates, more than 90% of suitable commercial roofs have not yet deployed solar PV; the potential capacity of more than 60 GW corresponds to an annual electricity supply scale that could cover approximately 20 million households connected to the UK National Grid. Industrial and logistics real estate were identified as asset classes with particularly notable underdeployment of commercial rooftop solar PV.

The report also calculated the investment returns of a typical 300 kWp commercial rooftop solar PV project. Based on an initial capital expenditure of £250,000, when the tenant bears the investment, the first-year net yield is approximately 20%, with a payback period of about 5.5 years; when the landlord bears the investment, the first-year net yield is approximately 12%, with a payback period of about 8 years. Under both investment models, the estimated annual emissions reduction for a system of this scale is approximately 53 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

In the survey, 85% of real estate industry respondents expected commercial building solar PV generation activity to increase over the next 24 months. The report lists project implementation constraints including mismatches between financing conditions and commercial leases, unclear real estate investment trust rules, insurance requirements, complex lease relationships, insufficient grid capacity, and long grid connection waiting times.

The report proposes seven policy adjustment directions, including clarifying the applicable rules for real estate investment trust investment in solar PV and expanding renewable energy coverage, extending the business rates exemption for commercial solar PV projects beyond 2035, standardizing power purchase agreements and lease terms, establishing unified rooftop solar PV insurance standards, forming a more stable mechanism for selling surplus electricity prices, accelerating grid expansion and connection reform, and adjusting the 50 kW capacity threshold under the existing planning permission system.

Real Estate launched this study in March 2026, when it commissioned Cushman & Wakefield to investigate the investment and implementation barriers facing large-scale deployment of rooftop solar PV in commercial real estate, with Forsters and Push Power participating in research support. The study results released in September formed the basis for the available commercial rooftop capacity, project investment payback models, and policy adjustment proposals.