Commercial solar installers in Yeovil

Key facts

Where businesses are in Yeovil

• Houndstone Business Park: Business park in Yeovil where Screwfix moved to a purpose-built site in 1998 and later added a contact centre. Screwfix's headquarters remains in Yeovil.
• Lufton Trading Estate: Business park linking to Houndstone Business Park. In July 2022 work began there on Artillery 88, a scheme of 27 self-contained commercial units of 1,119 to 1,620 sq ft by Dorset developer Fortitudo.

Large employers and sectors with sites here include:

• Helicopter manufacturing (Leonardo): In March 2026 the Ministry of Defence awarded Leonardo a £1 billion contract to build and deliver 23 AW149 helicopters from its Yeovil site, which the local MP said protects more than 3,000 skilled jobs in the town.
• Retail headquarters (Screwfix): Screwfix, owned by Kingfisher, began in Yeovil in 1979 as the Woodscrew Supply Company and is still headquartered in the town.

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

Yeovil is served by SSEN Distribution (Southern Electric Power Distribution 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 Yeovil

Yeovil follows the national planning rules for England, decided by Somerset 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:

• Yeovil Conservation Area, designated in 1983, covers about 10.9 hectares of the town centre and holds 68 listed buildings, including the Grade I Church of St John the Baptist, so roofs inside it need more care.

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

What a business roof in Yeovil could generate

Modelled with PVGIS for the town centre, a south-facing roof at 30 degrees produces about 1,045 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 Yeovil 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 Somerset

At the end of 2025, Somerset had 28,561 solar PV installations with 566.2 MW of capacity, up 23% since 2020, according to government figures. The Somerset page has the full local figures and how they compare.

Nearby towns

• Bridport, about 16 miles away
• Dorchester, about 18 miles away
• Bridgwater, about 20 miles away
• Taunton, about 21 miles away

Sources

• ons.gov.uk: census2021
• ons.gov.uk: datadownload.xlsx
• en.wikipedia.org: Screwfix
• alderking.com: work underway on 27 unit yeovil scheme
• adsgroup.org.uk: leonardo awarded mod contract for 23 medium helicopters
• yeovil-libdems.org.uk: adam dance mp welcomes award of new medium
• heritagecheck.co.uk: yeovil
• 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.