Commercial solar installers in Accrington

Key facts

Where businesses are in Accrington

• Huncoat Industrial Estate: A modern manufacturing estate on Newhouse Road that Hyndburn's 2025 Local Plan says is home to large employers including Senator and Bensons for Beds. The council approved a new industrial building there in March 2024.
• Broad Oak: An employment area in central Accrington where the council's 2025 Local Plan names foam maker Caligen Foam as a large employer.

Large employers and sectors with sites here include:

• Furniture manufacturing (Senator Group): In May 2024 Hyndburn Council approved an extension to Senator Group's manufacturing facility on Newhouse Road, Huncoat, adding office space and a larger canteen.
• Brick making (Forterra): Forterra's Accrington plant has made bricks from locally sourced clay for more than 100 years and makes the brick slips for the Omnia system launched in May 2026.

Large, simple roofs on distribution sheds and modern industrial units are usually the quickest and cheapest to fit. Older mill, factory and workshop buildings can work well too, but often need a structural survey first, and roofs from before 2000 may contain asbestos cement: see asbestos roofs.

Grid connection

Accrington is served by Electricity North West (North West licence area). Almost every commercial system needs G99 approval from the network operator before it is switched on, and the question is usually how much the local network can take back. Where export is limited, a G100 export limitation scheme can let a larger array connect. See G99 and DNO applications.

Planning in Accrington

Accrington follows the national planning rules for England, decided by Hyndburn council. Rooftop solar on most non-domestic buildings is permitted development, within height and edge limits, and systems above 50 kW need a prior approval application covering design and glare.

Points that come up locally:

• The Accrington Town Centre Conservation Area, designated in 1976, covers about 8.8 hectares and holds 13 listed buildings, including the Grade II* Town Hall, the Market Hall and the Carnegie Library, so roofs in the centre need more care.

Our guides on listed buildings and conservation areas explain what these mean for a solar project.

What a business roof in Accrington could generate

Modelled with PVGIS for the town centre, a south-facing roof at 30 degrees produces about 874 kWh per kWp a year.

Illustrative, not a quote: the same sums as our commercial solar calculator. A company paying corporation tax can usually shorten the payback with capital allowances.

Funding and support

We found no council or regional grant for business solar open in Accrington at the time of writing (November 2026). National reliefs still apply, such as capital allowances and, in England, the business rates exemption for onsite renewables: see grants and reliefs in England.

Solar across Hyndburn

At the end of 2025, Hyndburn had 1,088 solar PV installations with 10.0 MW of capacity, up 95% since 2020, according to government figures. The Hyndburn page has the full local figures and how they compare.

Nearby towns

• Blackburn, about 5 miles away
• Burnley, about 6 miles away
• Nelson, about 8 miles away
• Clitheroe, about 9 miles away

Sources

• ons.gov.uk: census2021
• ons.gov.uk: datadownload.xlsx
• hyndburnbc.gov.uk: HBC1.001 Local Plan Publication Reg22 2025 Submission Version
• hyndburnbc.gov.uk: H005 Appendix 3 Employment Land Supply
• professionalbuildersmerchant.co.uk: forterra launches uk manufactured complete brick slip system
• gov.uk: investment zones in england
• gov.uk: enterprise zones
• heritagecheck.co.uk
• heritagecheck.co.uk: accrington town centre
• Yield: PVGIS 5.3 (European Commission Joint Research Centre), SARAH3 data, 14% system losses, for the town centre, modelled 4 November 2026.
• Council area figures: DESNZ, renewable electricity by local authority 2014 to 2025.