Commercial solar installers in Stafford

Key facts

Where businesses are in Stafford

• Redhill Business Park: Business park developed by Staffordshire County Council, which said in 2017 it had invested £10 million in it; GE had a facility there and Omicron was building a £2 million training centre. Saint-Gobain Abrasives moved its head office and distribution centre, Unicorn House, to the park in 2019.
• Beacon Business Park: Established business park north east of Stafford, about 4 miles from junctions 13 and 14 of the M6. Stafford73, three speculatively built industrial and warehouse units of 23,354 to 73,341 sq ft with solar panels, was marketed in March 2026 for availability in the first quarter of 2027.

Large employers and sectors with sites here include:

• Power transmission equipment (GE Vernova): GE Vernova makes high voltage direct current (HVDC) transformers in Stafford. In June 2025 it announced an expansion to double the site's HVDC transformer production capacity, including a new testing laboratory, creating about 100 jobs.
• Adhesives (Bostik): Bostik has been based on Common Road, Stafford since 1954, on a 25 acre site with one of the largest teams in its UK network, a technical centre and the Bostik Academy training facility.

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

Stafford is served by National Grid Electricity Distribution (West Midlands). 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 Stafford

Stafford follows the national planning rules for England, decided by Stafford 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 Stafford conservation area covers the town centre, including its two early medieval churches, shops and civic buildings such as the Shire Hall, and Victoria Park, so check whether a building is inside it before planning roof panels in the centre.
• Stafford Borough has 29 conservation areas and Article 4 Directions in Stone, Eccleshall and Burton Manor Village; the council says installing solar panels on a building is likely to need planning permission where a Direction applies.

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

What a business roof in Stafford could generate

Modelled with PVGIS for the town centre, a south-facing roof at 30 degrees produces about 950 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 Stafford 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 Stafford

At the end of 2025, Stafford had 5,124 solar PV installations with 25.0 MW of capacity, up 108% since 2020, according to government figures. The Stafford page has the full local figures and how they compare.

Nearby towns

• Cannock, about 9 miles away
• Uttoxeter, about 12 miles away
• Telford, about 16 miles away
• Burton upon Trent, about 20 miles away

Sources

• ons.gov.uk: census2021
• ons.gov.uk: datadownload.xlsx
• visitstaffordshire.com: global energy firm s new training and service
• buildersmerchantsnews.co.uk: saint gobain abrasives headquarters distribution centre
• s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com: 6c0e8435df159b5a3db87da59a481af9 sp628 26 stafford73 brochure mar26 v4
• transformer-technology.com: ge vernova to expand stafford manufacturing site adding
• bostik.com: careers
• stoke.gov.uk: ceramic valley enterprise zone
• gov.uk: maps of west midlands investment zone tax sites
• staffordbc.gov.uk: E76 STAFFORD CONSERVATION AREA CHARACTER APPRAISAL 2011
• staffordbc.gov.uk: conservation areas
• 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.