Commercial solar installers in Forres

Key facts

Where businesses are in Forres

• Enterprise Park Forres: Highlands and Islands Enterprise's business park on the outskirts of Forres with direct A96 access, developed over 25 years. HIE opened two new 150 sqm units in June 2026 after a £1.2m investment, and the Manufacturing Innovation Centre Moray has opened there.
• Waterford Circle: Moray Council business park where the council built four factory units in 2013 to 2014 and five more (500 sqm) by 2016, after which it said the estate would be effectively fully developed and fully let.

Large employers and sectors with sites here include:

• Whisky (Benromach Distillery): Gordon & MacPhail finished a warehouse expansion at its Benromach Distillery in August 2025, adding three warehouses; the last, Warehouse 10, holds about 9,000 casks and raised maturation capacity by more than 25%.
• Manufacturing and marine businesses (Enterprise Park Forres): HIE says occupiers at Enterprise Park Forres include Gael Force Marine, Phoenix Instinct and Moray Waste Busters, across manufacturing, marine and data.

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

Forres is served by SSEN Distribution (Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution, North of Scotland 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 Forres

Planning in Forres is decided by Moray council under Scotland's own system. Non-domestic rooftop solar is often permitted development under the Scottish rules, but not on listed buildings, in National Scenic Areas or within 3 km of an aerodrome.

Points that come up locally:

• The Forres Conservation Area covers about 63.4 hectares of the town, so check whether a building is inside it before planning roof panels in the centre.
• Since 24 May 2024, Scotland's Class 6J lets solar PV go on non-domestic buildings without planning permission if it protrudes no more than 1 metre, but not on a listed building or within its curtilage, within 3 km of an aerodrome or technical site, or, in a conservation area, on the principal elevation or a side elevation fronting a road.

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

What a business roof in Forres could generate

Modelled with PVGIS for the town centre, a south-facing roof at 30 degrees produces about 835 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

• Business Energy Scotland SME Loan: Interest-free loans of £1,000 to £130,000. Cashback of 75% of eligible costs, up to £20,000 for energy efficiency measures and up to £10,000 for heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal, with a maximum of £30,000 per business. Applications are processed on a rolling basis all year round, subject to the overall availability of loan funds. The page says the scheme is not accepting new applications for solar PV projects. Check the scheme's own page for eligibility and closing dates.

National reliefs apply too: see grants and reliefs in Scotland.

Solar across Moray

At the end of 2025, Moray had 4,942 solar PV installations with 21.9 MW of capacity, up 127% since 2020, according to government figures. The Moray page has the full local figures and how they compare.

Nearby towns

• Elgin, about 11 miles away
• Inverness, about 24 miles away
• Fraserburgh, about 60 miles away
• Wick, about 61 miles away

Sources

• citypopulation.de: S52000258 forres
• citypopulation.de: S52000568 south forres
• hie.co.uk: hie opens doors to new business units at
• newsroom.moray.gov.uk: new business units nearing completion in forres
• whiskyexperts.net: gordon macphail schliesst erweiterung der warehouses der benromach
• mws.ltd.uk: gordon macphail
• heritagecheck.co.uk: forres
• legislation.gov.uk: made
• businessenergyscotland.org: sme loan
• 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.