Commercial solar installers in Wigan

Key facts

Where businesses are in Wigan

• Martland Park: Wigan Council says Martland Park, close to the M6 on the edge of the town centre, is the borough's largest employment area at 100.39 hectares, with manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, offices and trade counters, and a substantial manufacturing complex operated by Heinz.
• Westwood Park: A redevelopment area reached by Westwood Way and the A49 link road. The council's employment land listing describes a 4.8 hectare plot there next to the Nice Pak manufacturing factory.
• Wheatlea Industrial Estate and Warrington Road, Hawkley: A mixed commercial area on the A49 Warrington Road within 600 metres of M6 Junction 25, with large industrial and warehousing units, offices and retail; the council names Saica Pack, a cardboard packaging manufacturer, among the neighbours.
• Wigan Pier Quarter: A commercial area about 500 metres south of the town centre near Wigan Pier and the Trencherfield Mill complex, with commercial offices and some light industry, designated as a Primary Employment Area.

Large employers and sectors with sites here include:

• Food manufacturing (Kraft Heinz, Kitt Green): In February 2024 Kraft Heinz's Kitt Green site was described as one of the largest food processing plants in Europe, producing about 250,000 tonnes of food a year and employing roughly 850 people, with a 20MW green hydrogen plant proposed to supply over half its annual gas demand.
• Wet wipe manufacturing (Nice-Pak): Nice-Pak's 400,000 sq ft factory at Westwood Park was approved in 2015, when Wigan Council called it the largest building ever built in the borough; the council's employment land listing still names the Nice Pak factory there.

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

Wigan 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 Wigan

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

• Wigan has 23 conservation areas and over 500 listed buildings across the borough. In the town, the Wigan Town Centre conservation area (about 10.7 hectares, designated in 1980 and extended in 1982 and 1984) and the Wigan Pier conservation area (about 20.8 hectares of industrial and leisure buildings, designated in 1987) mean roofs there need more care.

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

What a business roof in Wigan could generate

Modelled with PVGIS for the town centre, a south-facing roof at 30 degrees produces about 920 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 Wigan 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 Wigan

At the end of 2025, Wigan had 6,529 solar PV installations with 32.4 MW of capacity, up 53% since 2020, according to government figures. The Wigan page has the full local figures and how they compare.

Nearby towns

• Leigh, about 6 miles away
• Skelmersdale, about 6 miles away
• Chorley, about 7 miles away
• St Helens, about 7 miles away

Sources

• ons.gov.uk: census2021
• ons.gov.uk: datadownload.xlsx
• wigan.gov.uk: Martland Park Heinz 3
• wigan.gov.uk: Westwood
• wigan.gov.uk: Warrington Road 1
• wigan.gov.uk: Wigan Pier Quarter 1
• investmanchester.co.uk
• placenorthwest.co.uk: nice pak wigan shed approved
• placenorthwest.co.uk: gmca firms up locations for special tax status
• assets.publishing.service.gov.uk: Investment Zones Pack Dec 2025
• gov.uk: enterprise zones
• gov.uk: maps of uk freeports
• wigan.gov.uk: ConservationAreas25kb
• wigan.gov.uk: Historic Environment Strategy
• 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.