Commercial solar installers in Oldham

Key facts

Where businesses are in Oldham

• Hollinwood Junction: A Langtree and Oldham Council regeneration site beside junction 22 of the M60 at Hollinwood, on a former gas holder site. In June 2025 Indurent forward funded 13 industrial units totalling 192,000 sq ft of distribution and manufacturing space, due to finish in the third quarter of 2026.
• Higginshaw and Hathershaw employment areas: Long established employment areas that Oldham Council's 2021 economy paper scored as top locations for manufacturing and construction, providing affordable, flexible premises with high occupancy.

Large employers and sectors with sites here include:

• Health and social care: Oldham Council's 2021 economy and employment paper said health and social care was Oldham's largest sector, with 14.2% of jobs.
• Manufacturing: The same 2021 council paper put manufacturing as Oldham's third largest sector, with 11.5% of jobs, and named Higginshaw as the top scoring site for it.

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

Oldham 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 Oldham

Oldham follows the national planning rules for England, decided by Oldham 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:

• Oldham Council adopted the Oldham Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan on 19 August 2019, and four extensions to the conservation area boundary have been designated, so check whether a town centre building is inside it before planning panels.

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

What a business roof in Oldham could generate

Modelled with PVGIS for the town centre, a south-facing roof at 30 degrees produces about 855 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 Oldham 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 Oldham

At the end of 2025, Oldham had 3,636 solar PV installations with 17.5 MW of capacity, up 74% since 2020, according to government figures. The Oldham page has the full local figures and how they compare.

Nearby towns

• Rochdale, about 6 miles away
• Bury, about 8 miles away
• Stockport, about 9 miles away
• Bolton, about 13 miles away

Sources

• ons.gov.uk: census2021
• ons.gov.uk: datadownload.xlsx
• placenorthwest.co.uk: indurent opens door for oldham sheds with 25m
• oldham.gov.uk: economy and employment topic paper
• gov.uk: investment zones in england
• gov.uk: enterprise zones
• oldham.gov.uk: local plan supplementary planning documents
• 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.